Miles to Go Before I Wake
by l0x0r
Summary: A terrible tragedy befalls the Kuno household. Who will Tatewaki turn to in this time of distress, why Nabiki of course. Nabiki/Kuno
1. The Forest

I do not own Ranma 1/2

**Miles to Go Before I Wake  
**

They cut the body down at late in the afternoon.

Thankfully it had not been discovered and reported until nearly the end of the school day, so the majority of the school's students had already left by the time the authorities had arrived. They had been able to remove the body fairly discretely with only a few people seeing the bag it was contained in before it was quietly carried away by ambulance. Unfortunately one of the few people who had seen the body before it had been bagged was the dead man's son.

Tatewaki Kuno sat quietly in the teacher's lounge starring though the rather attractive police woman who was talking to someone behind him about something dealing with recent bouts of depression or some other nonsense. Tatewaki felt a distant urge to smile and try to comfort the woman who was looking very nervous and uneasy. However his mind was currently occupied by trying to rid himself of the unpleasant images from earlier in the day.

The morning had been normal enough, he had met the beautiful Akane Tendo at the school's gate, and the pleasure from the encounter was only increased upon finding that she was not accompanied by the Foul Sorcerer Saotome, but by the beautiful Pig Tailed Goddess. Tatewaki had of course greeted them with one of his customary polite greetings, then strangely he had no more memories until he awoke in the school's infirmary to the almost smiling face of Nabiki Tendo. After exchanging pleasantries and cash for more tangible goods with Ms. Tendo, Tatewaki had escorted her back to their classroom where he paid no particular attention to the teacher, instead deciding to focus his energies on cataloging the assets of both his loves.

He continued in this noble endeavor until the lunch hour arrived. This was when Tatewaki first learned of his father's newest declaration, that no student would be able to purchase lunch until they had first received a proper haircut. Tatewaki would most likely have thought little of this newest rule, except for the fact that he had been unable to bring his usual gourmet bento to school today owing to the fact that the previous evening his sister had taken over the Kuno kitchen, and the chefs were still occupied with replacing all the tainted ingredients. In no small part due to the fact that he had no other recourse besides purchasing a meal at the school, Tatewaki felt the need to address this most unfair of decrees. So wielding his trusty bokkan he stormed through the empty teacher's lounge and into burst into his father's office so hard that the door bounced off the wall and closed behind him. The noble words of his declaration of intent died on his lips as his brain started to register the scene before him.

The Hawaiian motif pervaded almost every aspect of the office, from the many faux palm trees along the walls, to the little inflatable pool full of sand complete with castle in a corner of the room. The principal had even gone so far as to replace his desk with a surfboard supported by two clear blocks. The "desk" was empty with the exception of a small piece of paper in the center that Tatewaki couldn't read from his position, and some plaster from the ceiling where the light fixture had separated from its mount due to the weight of his father's body. A small trickle of dust fell to the desk and Tatewaki followed its path up past ... to the ceiling where the light fixture, a ceiling fan with the blades in the shape of palm leafs, had completely come off the ceiling and was hanging only by a few fat wires. It was slowly turning, the wires twisting around themselves first one way, then slowly the other. Tatewaki lowered his eyes and saw ... one of his father's sandals had fallen off. They had been his father's favorite pair, he had bought them shortly after Tatewaki's mother had gone away. Tatewaki was suddenly reminded of that day, he had seen his mother's body shortly before they had cut it down, before one of the maids had been able to cover his eyes and rush him away. She had been gracefully turning in the air, or had that been his father? The two seemed to merge together in his memories suddenly. That's right, his mother couldn't be dead, she had promised him that she would take him to the park again today. And daddy had said that if his important interview at the local college went well he would leave early and they would all go out to eat at his favorite restaurant, even little Dachi would come. So his dad couldn't be dead cause he was coming home early today, and mommy couldn't be dead cause she had promised, promised!

They found Tatewaki a few hours later, curled up on the floor staring at his father's body, mumbling something about a promise over and over. The authorities were quickly contacted and when they arrived, they quickly took charge of the boy who seemed to have gone into shock. Having no better alternatives, the police took the almost comatose boy to his house and left him there in the care of some of the servants. The Kuno servants assured the authorities that they had vast experience with mental disorders and that the young Kuno would be back to normal in a short amount of time. The note that the police found on the desk of Principal Kuno told the story of the ever increasing pressure of several harassment lawsuits coupled with the fact that his own children no longer loved him which lead him to his eventual death at his own hands. It somehow managed to achieve the distinction of being both short yet rambling. It clearly revealed the depths of insanity that the once promising professor had reached.

Tatewaki eventually slowly awoke to his surroundings. He wasn't sure just how long he had been lost in the fog like daze of half remembered, half imaged memories. But he dimly remembered several faces and many documents needing his signature now that he was head of the Kuno household. As his senses returned to him, Tatewaki found himself in a slightly familiar place, his mother's grave. He had come here only a few times before. He had felt silly, the cold marble fixture bearing his mother's name had nothing to do with her, she had been warm and caring, in her own way. The stone was just cold and unfeeling. As his mind cleared further, Tatewaki noticed that to the right of his mother's grave was a new monument, this one with his father's name chiseled into it. It even had a small palm tree decoration carved beside the name.

Suddenly it all came back to him, his father was gone, his mother was also gone. It almost felt like a physical blow, hi quickly looked around and found his sister standing near his side, and a slightly familiar man droning on about how the recently deceased Kuno had been full of life and promise. Aside from the man who Tatewaki now recognized as the local priest, Tatewaki and Kodachi were alone in the cemetery. The priest seemed to be reading from a thick packet of papers with little if any emotion, while Kodachi seemed to be nearly bored out of her mind behind her half veil that did little to cover her face. The sun was shining brightly and the birds were happily singing in the trees, and Tatewaki suddenly felt his tears begin to silently fall. He knew that his father was considered eccentric at best, but to have so few people appear at the funeral, and to have no indication from the outside world of the man's passing, it all seemed somehow inappropriate. Was it really the case that there had been no one in the world who had liked his father enough to at least say good bye without being forced to do so?

Tatewaki could feel Kodachi's questioning gaze as his tears continued to fall. The priest continued to drone on and this caused Tatewaki to feel even worse for some reason, so he cried harder. This went on for another half an hour until Tatewaki thought that he had cried himself out and he just felt empty. Kodachi meanwhile had stood nearby quietly trying to ignore her overly emotional brother while she patiently and dutifully waited for the priest to finish up with the readings that her father had required in his last will and testament. The priest meanwhile finally reached the last line of the deceased's self written eulogy and lighting a few sticks of incense, turned to the two teens and said, "Well I'm sorry for your loss, but I have a busy schedule, so if you will excuse me, goodbye."

With that he turned from the siblings and walked past the many monuments and out the cemetery. Taking that as a conclusion to the matter, Kodachi clapped her hands and bowed toward the two monuments, then turned to follow the priest's path out of the dreary and depressing place. However Kodachi sensed that her brother had not turned to follow her, so she turned and said with a questioning glance, "Tatewaki, its over. Lets go home."

Tatewaki shook himself from his stupor and stared into Kodachi's eyes with an unrecognizable expression that somewhat scared the girl. "What do you mean its over? Father is dead, and no one is here to morn him. No one cared that he lived or died, don't you find that ... sad?"

Tatewaki's comment only caused his sister to quirk her eyebrow as she replied, "Well what is there to be sad about dear brother? The insane lunatic is dead, it is not like he was ever really around anyway, so I don't really see that much of a difference will occur in our daily lives. Anyway, stay if you want, but I'm going home." with that she turned and quickly left. Tatewaki numbly watched his sister leave, then turned back to his parent's graves for a final look. He didn't know how long he loitered before the cold marble, but finally he too turned and made his way out of the cemetery and away from the final resting place of his parents.

As he neared the gates leading out of the cemetery, Tatewaki looked up from the pavement long enough to avoid stumbling into a person leaning against the outer wall near the opening. It took a few seconds for Tatewaki to recognize the person as none other than Nabiki Tendo. She was had been staring intently at the ground in front of the cemetery, thus she didn't notice Tatewaki's approach until he had nearly impacted with her, but once she was aware of him, her gaze swept up and her eyes met with Tatewaki's. For a moment there was something in her eyes that made Tatewaki feel something that he had long ago forgotten about. It had been so long ago, that he no longer could accurately identify the momentary feeling. Nabiki's expression soon changed to a neutral one, but Tatewaki missed this since he had looked in another direction almost immediately, in order to break the tenuous connection they had had with their eyes. Nabiki took a step towards Tatewaki, and as nonchalantly as possible, said, "Hello Kuno – ba ... Kuno, I heard about your loss, and I just wanted to let you know that I was sorry."

Tatewaki could feel his eyes begin to water again and he didn't know why. He momentarily felt that maybe crying in front of the mercenary of Furinkan High School was not a good idea. But that notion was almost immediately overwhelmed by the need to release what had been building up within him. He felt the strange feeling to try and make someone, anyone, hurt as much as he was hurting. It just wasn't fair that no one cared about his father's death, not even himself. And that was the real reason he felt so bad, he felt that his emotions where unfilial, and therefore betrayed his family.

So without any other thought besides the desire to hurt those around him as much as possible in order to decrease his own self hate, Tatewaki regrettably opened his mouth. "I suppose its only good business to pretend to care about the welfare of important clients. I expect that you are going to demonstrate the depths of your sorrow by offering a discount on the pictures for all of next week."

Nabiki's face shifted from pity to confusion, "Wha ... no Kuno, I ..." She tried to explain and calm him down, but Tatewaki was having none of that, he had found an outlet for his emotions, and he would be damned if he let her take that away from him.

So Tatewaki briskly interrupted whatever Nabiki had been about to say. "Save it Nabiki Tendo, I know that your faking your concern. I appreciate the effort, its more than anyone else has seen fit to do. Even my own sister ..." He let out a sigh, "I know that my father was not well liked, nay in fact he was almost universally despised by all including myself, and I do not expect the denizens of Furinkan High School to go into mourning for an entire year. But he was my father, the only one that I had. I know he wasn't the best of men, but shouldn't there be more people mourning his passing?" Watching as Nabiki's expression turned from surprise back to pity, something inside Tatewaki's chest clenched and he turned his face away from Nabiki's while he felt his eyes tearing up again. Cursing himself for his continuing weakness Tatewaki continued. "Is the reason that I'm the only one sad right now because I am the one responsible for his death? I mean first I killed my mother, then I drove my father insane and killed him too. I killed them, it is my fault, so my guilt must be the cause of my sadness."

Not waiting for Tatewaki to fall apart any further, Nabiki quickly closed the distance between them and with a hand stinging slap brought Tatewaki's attention back to her. "Listen," she said, "listen Kuno – baby, your father was his own person, he made a decision himself, a very stupid and selfish decision, but one which I am totally sure that you had no influence on. And your mother killed herself when you were what, five? There's no way that you could have been the reason for her death. Now quit blaming yourself for the actions of others."

Tatewaki had been staring into Nabiki's eyes despite the tears that he felt slowly falling down his cheeks as she had spoken, so he was witness to something rarely seen in the middle Tendo sister, earnestness. She truly believed in what she had said. Tatewaki had to somehow convincer her of the truth. He brought pain and death to those he loved. "Nabiki," Tatewaki started, only later being amazed at himself for being so forward, "if you only knew what I have done. the day before my mother died, I had been bothering her ceaselessly about her letting me play with some friends, but she told me repeatedly that they were below my status and that I should stop seeing them altogether. Then I ... " Tatewaki swallowed a sob at the memory that haunted his nightmares. "I told her that I hated her, and that I wished that she was ... dead. I killed her, if only I had done as she asked, she might not have died. Then when father found out, he told me again and again that it was my fault that she had died, and then he refused to see me anymore. Then one night he got really drunk and stormed out of the house and on the way out he saw me and cursed me once more. I ... I told him that I hoped he never came back, and he didn't. He didn't come back until just last year when he returned from Hawaii, and even then he was a stranger, a lunatic in the form of my father. Now he is dead, and this too must be my fault, its always my fault."

As he talked, Tatewaki's head had dropped until he was staring at the ground where his tears made slow intermittent splashes on the pavement. The view became obstructed however when Nabiki removed any remaining space between the two and pulled Tatewaki into a fierce hug. Tatewaki acted on instinct and wrapped his arms around Nabiki as he buried his face in her shoulder where his eyes decided to release all safeties and allow the flood waters free reign. Nabiki reassuringly rubbed circles on his back as she tried to calm him down. "Tatewaki, you've made a lot of bad decisions in life, and many mistakes. We all have. But you could never be responsible for the death of someone else. I know you to well, you might be an idiot most of the time, but you would never deliberately cause harm to someone else (except Ranma she quietly thought to herself). I don't care what you think, you had nothing to do with your parent's deaths. Somehow I am going to convince you of that fact."

Nabiki let Tatewaki cry on her for a few more minutes before she discretely directed them over to a nearby bench where Tatewaki tried to bury his head in his hands, but Nabiki took possession of one of the hands while she continued to pat his back, so he had to be satisfied with merely covering his eyes with his free hand while he continued to weep and Nabiki continued to murmur comforting words.

By the time that Tatewaki had cried himself out the sun was in a much lower position in the sky and he was feeling exhausted. He had always been weak, but this was the first time in a very long while that he had let someone else see just how weak he really was. To top it all off, the person he had allowed to see him at his weakest was one of the people he had never wanted to show that side of himself to the most. Feeling Nabiki's hand still on his back slowly circling, continuing to try and comfort him, Tatewaki acutely felt just how close she was, and how inappropriately he was acting. Tatewaki stood up suddenly, so suddenly in fact that Nabiki gave out a small cry of surprise. Without really looking either the direction of Nabiki or his parent's grave, Tatewaki quickly rushed back out of the cemetery. As he was making his retreat he tossed over his shoulder, "I apologize Nabiki Tendo, please disregard my antics on this occasion, they were merely my distraught ramblings stemming from the loss... the loss of ..." He couldn't go on with his thought much less his sentence, so he started to run away from her, away from them, away from everyone and everything, trying to find a safe place.

Instead Tatewaki found himself in front of the Kuno grounds. As usual the main house was dark and silent, its windows reflecting the now setting sun. Tatewaki knew that even on a normal day the only area of the Kuno compound that really showed any signs of life where the servant's quarters which where housed in a smaller building separate from the main mansion. They were one of the few areas in the compound that were not booby trapped.

Tatewaki walked through the darkened halls of the Kuno estate steering clear of the areas he knew his sister routinely frequented. He paused briefly before the door to his room, but with a sigh he continued on until he had reached his father's former chambers. Tatewaki was tired of struggling with his emotions and being alone in his room would probably just lead to more inner reflection, and he was far too tired for any of that. Perhaps he could find some sort of rest by occupying his mind with closing his father's affairs and becoming acquainted with the duties demanded from the head of the Kuno household.

Walking through the sitting room, the Hawaiian motif served only to remind him of the loss of his father. Ignoring the bedroom for now, Tatewaki made his way into his father's private office. A room seldom used judging by the normality of the décor. Lining the walls were tall bookshelves which were filled with books f law and other ancient manuscripts covered with a thick layer of dust. These were relics from the days of Tatewaki's grandfather, a well respected lawyer who had also for a time been a member of the legislature. Sadly he had died several years before Tatewaki's birth, so all Tatewaki knew of him came from a single stern portrait on display in the attic, and this vast collection of books which seemed to trace the linage of Japanese law all the way back to the days of the Shogunate.

Sitting down at the huge walnut desk occupying the space next to the now darkened window, Tatewaki noticed that nearly everything in the office was coated in a layer of dust, including the musty high-backed leather chair he was currently occupying. The only exception to this being a stack of cardboard boxes in a corner behind the desk. Reaching into the topmost, Tatewaki retrieved an unopened letter addressed to his father from a company that he wasn't sure he had ever heard of. Opening the letter he found a statement of the second quarter earnings of a stock portfolio.

Intrigued, Tatewaki dug deeper and then examined the contents of the other boxes beneath the first, finding hundreds of letters from many different financial institutions, as well as from a few law firms. Some of them had been opened, but the majority of them had remained sealed. They dated back from two weeks prior, to almost all the way to the date of his grandfather's death. Spying another stack of boxes closer to the door of the room, hiding behind a leather love-seat, Tatewaki dragged them over to the desk and opened them as well. Here he found bills and invoices documenting all the expenses the Kuno household had accumulated, covering almost the same time period as the other documents. Apparently whenever his father had received business documents, the servants had just dumped them into this room and promptly ignored them.

The previous year Tatewaki had been unable to sign up for an elective at the same time as all the other students due to some rather severe injuries he had mysteriously sustained. Thus he had been forced into the only remaining open course, an introduction to accounting. Thanking his then misfortune, Tatewaki searched through the disused desk until he had found an old ledger, whose first few pages were filled with what he assumed was his grandfather's deft handwriting. Turning to a blank page, Tatewaki located a heavy and expensive looking pen, then taking the earliest documents he began to record amounts.

Several hours later, Tatewaki failed to notice as the sun started to creep over the horizon, augmenting the light in the office beyond that provided by the desk lamp Tatewaki had been dependent upon until that point. He now had a rough understanding of the Kuno finances, and he was troubled. While the Kuno fortune was still substantial, it had dwindled alarmingly over the past 15 years. It seemed that no one had paid any attention to the finances so long as there was money in the account when they needed it. This left the fate of the fortune in the hands of lawyers and financial institutes who didn't really care about the state of the account either, so long as they were paid. many of the investments made in Tatewaki's grandfather's time had long ago stopped being profitable, but due to poor oversight no one had changed any of the investments. This needed to be rectified as soon as possible, and Tatewaki decided he needed to contact several people after businesses opened again following the federal holiday that was currently underway.

Tatewaki wearily rubbed his eyes and was suddenly reminded by his growling stomach that it had been quite some time since he had last eaten. Taking a final look at the ledger that was now covered in his even handwriting, and the carefully organized stacks of documents he had sorted the letters into, Tatewaki stood up from the desk and made his way out of the office and his father's sanctum. Quietly traversing the halls of the Kuno mansion, Tatewaki finally came to the kitchen, where he found only the same darkness which blanketed the rest of the house. This was unusual since by this time the cook had usually already started on breakfast. Noticing a small note on the counter of the central island, Tatewaki picked it up and read, "Due to the unbearable working conditions that we have been subjected to, we are leaving." It was signed by the entire staff including the maids and chauffeur. Even Sasuke's name was on it, though it had hastily been crossed out.

Tatewaki sighed, the Kuno household was used to rapid staff turnover. he remembered as a young boy it had seemed as if the staff changed almost weekly. Making a mental note to fill the now vacant positions, Tatewaki threw away the note and turned his attention to the refrigerator in a desperate attempt to feed himself.

As he was trying to determine exactly how to transform the raw material he saw before him into something edible, he felt the presence of someone behind him. Turning he found his sister, who had abandoned her mourning dress in favor of her usual leotard. Tatewaki knew that his sister was an accomplished cook, however he also knew that she enjoyed adding superfluous ingredients to her recipes such as paralysis powder. Thus he rapidly came to the conclusion that perhaps it would be advantageous to his health if he searched for sustenance from an independent third party.

"Well dear sister, it seems that once again our servants have forsaken us. therefore I suppose until I hire a new staff we must accommodate ourselves in the arena of culinary arts."

Kodachi regarded her brother sleepily for a moment, raising her eyebrow slightly at his rumpled appearance before answering, "Dear brother, fear not for I will be more than willing to prepare cuisine enough for the two of us, and perhaps even Sasuke."

Tatewaki tried to hide his grimace as he replied, "No need to trouble yourself dear sister, this morning I feel myself craving a breakfast that can only be obtained from an established dining facility. So please excuse me, but I must take my leave." So saying Tatewaki walked past his sister and eventually found his way out of the house, not caring in which direction he traveled in. After a quarter of an hour's ramble he came upon a small outdoor cafe which was just opening. Ignoring the strange looks of the employees at his appearance, Tatewaki ordered an iced coffee and some sugary confection. However when his order arrived he found that once more his appetite had deserted him. Therefore he sipped at his coffee while reading a newspaper he had purchased during his stroll.

Nabiki Tendo hated getting up early, actually she despised it, and it was even more of a crime when she had to do it during a holiday. Anytime that began with a single digit and ended with a.m. should be outlawed. This was one of the reasons that she wasn't in the most pleasant of moods that fine day. A local electronics store was having a drastic reduction sale on digital camera equipment, but it ended at 10 a.m., and due to the technical nature of the purchase, Nabiki felt that no one else in the house would be able to go shopping in her stead. She saw the other reason she was in a bad mood on the way back from making her purchases, while she was walking down the street swinging the plastic bags that held her cameras and planning on which positions would be the best to place them. Tatewaki Kuno had been on her mind all last night and early this morning. She couldn't figure him out, her heart went out to him, but it seemed as is he was unwilling to forgive himself for something that he had no control over. He was also now sitting at a small cafe across the street where Nabiki was now walking.

Tatewaki was still wearing the black suit that he had been wearing the previous day, although somewhere he had lost the tie and loosened the shirt collar. Adding to his rumpled clothes, his hair was more disheveled than she had ever seen it, and his clearly bloodshot eyes where accented by the dark bags underneath them. What really shook Nabiki however was the vacant expression that he wore. Tatewaki looked for the lack of a better word, lost. He was holding a newspaper in front of him, but he wasn't as truly reading it as he was just staring through it, his eyes unfocused and unblinking.

Nabiki again recalled the previous day and how Tatewaki had broken down in front of her. She also vividly remembered the sad event that was her own mother's funeral, and though at the time she had been inconsolable, she also remembered how later she appreciated all the people who had attended and provided her with quiet support and sympathy. Therefore, while she had no real feelings towards the death of Principal Kuno, Nabiki felt compelled to attend the funeral for Tatewaki's sake if nothing else.

When she had initially arrived at the cemetery, she had feared that her much tauted information network had been mistaken for once. She had been able to find out that the funeral was to happen today, but it couldn't be since there seemed to be no one at the cemetery. Searching again however, Nabiki's network once again proved itself. The Kuno funeral was in progress, but it must have been decided to be a private family affair since the only people in attendance where the young Kunos and the local priest.

Deciding that they wished for privacy, Nabiki retreated to the entrance to the cemetery and loitered next to an expensive looking limousine parked nearby. She hadn't been waiting long when Kodachi passed her and climbed into the limousine before Nabiki could say anything. Nabiki turned, expecting Tatewaki to be following his sister, but to her surprise, the limousine shortly took off without him.

Looking back into the cemetery, Nabiki saw Tatewaki still standing next to his parent's monuments for a few minutes more, until he turned and started to make his way to where she was waiting. Staring at the ground, Tatewaki didn't see her until he was right on top of her. Nabiki didn't exactly recall what had been said, but she did recall Tatewaki's misplaced blame, blaming himself for the deaths of his parents. With the scene still fresh in her mind, Nabiki shook herself and made her way over to the crosswalk where she waited for the signal to change so she could go and straighten out Tatewaki once and for all.

Tatewaki felt ... distant would probably be the best word. Distant not only from his immediate surroundings, but from his memories and emotions as well. The lack of sleep, coupled with his immersing himself in number crunching for several hours as well as the monumental emotional drain he had undergone, all caused him to be so exhausted that ... well he didn't know what. He didn't know what he should be doing, or what he should be feeling, or even what he should be thinking. All the things he had thought were so important just a few minutes ago, now felt if not meaningless, then pushed so far from his consciousness as to make them nearly so. He was currently occupied by getting lost in the way that the ink bled into the fibers of the newspaper in front of him, as the ice in his coffee clinked softly as it melted in time with the hustle and bustle of the rest of the world as it passed him by.

Suddenly the world intruded upon his mental abstractions when someone sat down in the seat in front of him. Slowly looking up, Tatewaki found that Nabiki Tendo had already helped herself to the crusty pastry he had ordered. She then grabbed the attention of one of the passing waitresses and after placing an order for a cappuccino, turned to regard Tatewaki. Upon closer inspection she found his condition even worse than her initial assessment. His eyes didn't see her so much as see through her. His fingers seemed to be stained with ink, and he seemed unusually pale and anemic. Suddenly she felt a little twinge of guilt over having let him walk away the previous day.

Deciding to keep up the "everything is normal, so you should be too" routine she had started by stealing his turnover, Nabiki opened up with, "Wow Kuno – baby, you haven't looked this bad since the last time my sister beat the stuffing out of you." Actually secretly she somewhat liked his new look, he seemed so much more intense, and real than his usual samurai persona. She expected that Tatewaki would rise to the bait and either become angry or at least start declaring his amorous intentions towards her sister. Thus Nabiki was surprised when Tatewaki's eyes focused on her for only a second before he put down his paper and turned to vacantly regard the ever increasing flow of traffic.

Nabiki was about to try and break through to Tatewaki again when she was interrupted by the efficient server bringing her cappuccino whose swirling eddies had been artistically crafted into a string of hearts. The waitress winked at Nabiki as she was leaving, no doubt laboring under the impression that the two high school students where a couple. Nabiki grimaced slightly at the fact that anyone could even conceive of her being involved with Tatewaki. She then lifted the cup and sipped at the delightfully prepared drink. Carefully setting the cup back down on its saucer, Nabiki decided to try a different tactic.

"What's wrong Kuno? I know for a fact that there was little if any love between your father and you. Definitely not enough for you to feel this badly. And that stuff you said yesterday, you can't really mean it, I mean logically there is no way you were responsible for either of your parent's deaths. So snap out of it, I know its the start of summer break, but you are still the 'Blue Thunder of Furinkan High School' and that means you are obligated to chase after my sister and her fiancée while spouting moldy quotes."

All while Nabiki had spoken, Tatewaki had remained steadfastly fixated on watching the crowd go by. Nabiki was wondering if he had even heard her at all when he sighed deeply and in a normal if somewhat tired and quiet voice, he started to talk.

"I'm tired Nabiki," he said, still without looking at her. "I'm just so tired of all these emotions I thought I had locked away, but they have returned to me with a vengeance. I'm tired of having to realize that I am a failure not only as a son but as a brother. I'm tired of the knowledge that my father was so universally hated that even his own children could not mourn at his funeral. He alienated everyone around him by indulging in his own fantasies and forcing others to indulge with him. I ask myself am I any different, and I don't like the answer. Will I too spend my life living in a delusion, a wastrel hedonist, until at the end, at my funeral, there will be no one?" With this he closed his eyes and pressed his face into his hands, the continued to speak. "I find myself taking on more and more responsibility, more than I am really ready fore, because I am the most sane inmate of the Kuno Asylum." Without opening his eyes he crossed his arms on the table and laid his head upon them. "I'm so tired of that huge, dark, empty, cold house. I don't want to go back there and face those responsibilities. I'm not good enough, I never was." The last part of this speech had dwindled in volume almost to a whisper that Nabiki had to strain to hear.

Nabiki had been surprised at first not only by how normal Tatewaki was sounding, but also by how informal he was being, it was almost as if he regarded her as his friend. Her surprise quickly gave way first to pity, then to anger as Tatewaki continued to talk. Anger at the fact that Tatewaki was being such a spineless wimp. She wanted to shake him, yell at him about how he should own up and accept the fact that he was now head of the Kuno household, and the responsibilities associated with such a title. But she also understood where he was coming from, and just how fragile a state he was in. So she scooted her chair over to his side of the table and pulled him into an embrace and said, "Come on now, it might seem like a lot has hit you all at once, but the trick is to break it all down into smaller bits, things you can deal with one at a time." Being in such close proximity to him, she could clearly smell the fact that he had not taken a bath recently. "The first thing you need to do is clean up and get some rest. It won't seem so bad after a good night's sleep."

Tatewaki didn't look up, but he clearly mumbled, "I don't want to go back to that place." Nabiki supposed that he was referring to his own house, so thinking for only a moment, she proposed, 

"Well then, you can come home with me and sleep it off there. As long as you promise not to chase after anyone, or try to hurt Ranma." Nabiki gently pulled on Tatewaki, and he didn't resist, so she reached into his pocket and pulling out his wallet paid their bill and then grabbing her bags, led him in the direction of the Tendo Dojo. Conveniently forgetting to put his wallet back where she found it.

More coming soon.

By the way this piece was not beta'd since I have no beta reader. I wish to correct this. Anyone interested please pm me.


	2. The Lake

I do not own Ranma 1/2

**Miles to Go Before I Wake**

**Chapter 2**

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The walk to the Tendo Dojo was quiet and uneventful. Tatewaki followed behind Nabiki unresponsive, but unresisting. They passed several people on their trip, but for the most part the denizens of Nerima either recognized Tatewaki as a rival of Ranma's, or Nabiki as a member of the Tendo family, and almost subconsciously ignored them. After all, most of them had long ago learned that noticing the strange people and events surrounding Ranma Saotome was the first step in being involved with those strange people and events. Thus for the most part the regular citizens of Nerima tried to live their lives in a semi-oblivious state, ignoring the antics of the super martial artists in their midsts, unless they were either forced to be involved, or the spectacle was entertaining with little danger involved.

Arriving at the gate to the Tendo compound, Nabiki led the way inside and into the front foyer where she quickly shed her shoes and left Tatewaki with instructions to remain there while she went ahead and scouted out the situation in the rest of the house. Since it was after the normal Tendo breakfast time, but well before the lunch hour, Nabiki knew that the members of the household had already gone their separate ways, so she made her way to the kitchen where Kasumi would likely be found. Her elder sister was indeed still in the kitchen, just finishing the cleaning of the mess from breakfast. "Hey Kasumi, is the furo free?" Nabiki asked as she paused in the doorway.

Kasumi turned only slightly away from the sink while continuing to clean dishes as she replied, "Oh I'm sorry, I just drained it, if you would like though, I could fill it up for you again in a few minutes."

"No, its not that big of a deal, I just brought over a friend who needed to get cleaned up, but the shower should be good enough for him. By the way does dad have any clothes that he could borrow? The ones he's wearing now are dirty, and I think that Ranma's clothes would be a little too small for him." Nabiki slightly smirked as she said this, she knew that it would definitely get her sister's attention.

She wasn't disappointed, Kasumi quickly turned off the sink and turned to face Nabiki fully, while wiping her hands with a dish towel. "Oh my, you brought a boy home Nabiki? I'm not sure if ... " Kasumi started to say before she was interrupted by Nabiki.

"Don't worry sis, its just Tatewaki Kuno, I found him wandering around town earlier and he looked pretty beat down, so I offered him a place to rest for a few hours while he collects himself." Nabiki said as she waved her hand in a dismissive manner and then helped herself to the chocolate in the candy jar located on the counter next to the door.

Kasumi had of course heard of the tragic death of Principal Kuno from Ranma and Akane earlier, so she was immediately sympathetic to the young Kuno's plight. "Oh, I hope the poor boy is alright. I should make a nice meal to raise his spirits." Kasumi turned toward a nearby row of cabinets, as she did, she suddenly remembered her sister's earlier request. "I just did the laundry, and there is one of father's old work out outfits drying on the line outside, it should be ready in a little while. Oh yes, and Ranma and his father left for Okinawa this morning, there was a news story about a spring of manliness or some such thing found on one of the islands there, so Kuno can rest in the guest room if he would like." Smiling, Kasumi turned back to finding the proper utensils that she would need to make a suitable feast to aide Kuno in shrugging off his melancholy. She idly wondered if perhaps it was too early in the season for Anmitsu.

Nabiki smiled at the antics of her sister before balling up the chocolate wrappers and throwing them in the nearby recycling bin. She turned and made her way back to the foyer where she had left Tatewaki, and found that he had advanced further into the house and was admiring one of the wall scrolls decorating the main hallway. Although admiring might have been a strong term to use, he was starring at it, but whether he actually even saw it was anyone's guess.

"Come on Kuno-baby, you need to get cleaned up, then you can rest for a while. Trust me, it will all seem better after a nice long sleep." Nabiki's sudden appearance startled Tatewaki out of his silent stupor, and he quickly looked up and met her eyes. His gaze was deep and unfathomable, it shook Nabiki slightly, but the moment quickly passed when Tatewaki again looked away. "Come on." Nabiki said, grabbing one of Tatewaki's arms and literally dragging him to the bathroom. She let go of him in the dressing area when she knocked on the inner door and then proceeded to poke her head into the bathroom to make sure that it really was empty. Turning back to Tatewaki Nabiki said, "Well I assume that you will be able to undress yourself. The bathroom is through there," she said pointing to the inner door, "I'll go and get you some fresh clothes. I'll just leave them out here, just shout if you need anything." Without waiting for anything more than a curt nod from Tatewaki she turned and placing the occupied sign on the door, walked out toward her room. She had cameras to unpack and set up during this perfect opportunity of Ranma's absence.

Tatewaki remained where he stood for a few seconds, until the sounds of Nabiki's footsteps had faded away, then he started to take stock of the room he was in. It was nice enough, clean, warm, inviting, small. This was what most people's bathrooms must look like he thought to himself. His only experiences with bathing facilities had of course come from the opulent bathrooms at the Kuno manor where the changing rooms where at least ten times the size of the one he was currently in, enough to hold over twenty people comfortably. Of course there had never been twenty people at one time in his bathroom, so that was mere conjecture. In fact there had never been anyone else besides himself in his bathroom. In the Kuno house, each bedroom was allocated an equally magnificent bathroom, each with their own furo, though there was a larger communal outdoor furo. That was perhaps the most significant difference between the upper class and the rest of mankind, they could afford not to share, and they could afford lots of space. They could afford loneliness.

Banishing his continually depressing thoughts, Kuno began to mechanically undress himself, neatly separating his clothes into a well folded pile with his accessories such as his watch and cuff links placed upon it. He then moved into the bathroom proper and unconsciously taking note of the smallness of the space and how it only added to the charm of the room instead of detracting from it, located the small stool to sit on next to the shower head and water taps mounted to the wall. Twisting one of the taps Tatewaki felt the forceful spray of water hit his body, although he didn't pay particular attention to the temperature of the water. Locating soap and a washcloth, he began to mechanically clean himself.

Nabiki smiled to herself as she heard the water running when she returned bringing a fresh set of clothes with her. For a little while she had been half afraid that Tatewaki was so out of it that he would have been still standing in the dressing room, like a lost and confused puppy. She put the armful of clean clothes down on the counter within easy arm distance of the bathroom door and next to the pile of Tatewaki's dirty clothes. Noticing the Fendi wristwatch and the diamond stud gold cuff links, Nabiki quickly slipped them into her pocket next to Tatewaki's wallet. After all, who knew what kind of unscrupulous person would come by and take advantage of the fact that they were just sitting there. It would be wise if Nabiki stored them for Tatewaki, just for safe keeping. Nabiki then picked up the pile of dirty clothes, and not caring if they might be dry clean only, transported them to the laundry area.

She then made her way to the living room where she turned on the television to a random channel and pulled out Tatewaki's wallet, ignoring the section for cards, going straight to the cash slot. There she found slightly over twenty one thousand yen. Nabiki grinned to herself in delight as she began to calculate just how much Tatewaki owed her for today's services. First there was the bill for the water he was currently using, then there would be the charge for renting out a room, then there was the cleaning fee for his clothing, then the restaurant charge for the meal Kasumi was preparing, and on and on and on. A few minutes later Nabiki had finished mentally tabulating Tatewaki's bill and had only been able to run up the expenses to twenty thousand yen. Frowning slightly to herself, she racked her brains in an attempt to find a suitable excuse to take the last thousand yen. Smirking in triumph, she silently added the finding fee of stumbling across Tatewaki earlier in the morning.

Organizing her thoughts in case she needed to itemize the bill on paper later if Tatewaki asked about his missing money, Nabiki folded the yen into her pocket and perused the rest of his wallet. There was little else in it, only a student ID, a couple of credit cards, whose numbers she quickly memorized, and a set of pictures of Akane and the female version of Ranma. Finding nothing else of interest, Nabiki returned the wallet to her pocket and focused her attention on the television, randomly flipping through channels in an effort to find something worthwhile to watch. About twenty minutes later she had finally found something remotely interesting, when she heard the water to the bathroom shut off. Waiting for another few minutes until a commercial break, Nabiki picked herself up and made her way back to the bathroom.

Tatewaki had engaged in what was quickly becoming a disturbing habit, he had basically blanked out during the shower, only coming back to his senses when he realized that he was washing his left arm for the third time. He gave himself a final rinse and turning off the water, made his way back to the dressing area where he found a new change of clothes. Slipping on the loose and comfortable garments which had become soft and gray from being washed so many times, momentarily he stood there at a loss as to what he should do. Tatewaki collected himself and opening the door, nearly ran into the eldest of the three Tendo sisters.

"Oh excuse me!" Kasumi said after the near collision, one arm occupied by several dish towels, the other she had put out to support the younger boy who seemed to be unsteady having reacted more strongly to the encounter. "I was just on my way to get more towels for the kitchen and I wasn't looking where I was going, I'm sorry."

"No, its my fault entirely I'm sure, I did not pause and insure the corridor was unoccupied before entering it." Tatewaki replied with an attempt at a smile, a sad and pale shadow of an attempt.

Seeing this disturbing expression, Kasumi collected herself. "I was sorry to hear about your loss, I know how hard it is to lose a loved one, especially a parent. But I hope that you will recover quickly and return to being the cheerful young man that Ranma and Akane are always going on about." The last part was said with a genuine Kasumi smile, a very bright and hopeful expression. One that allowed Tatewaki to dimly recognize the depth of his own depression by giving him a basis for comparison. Briefly he wondered if he had ever been able to smile with as much grace and happiness as the girl who stood before him. He quickly banished his thoughts as the eldest Tendo daughter turned away from him and continued on to the kitchen, passing Nabiki as she went.

"Okay, Kuno-baby, I've got a great place for you to sleep it off, follow me." Nabiki said as she walked up to Tatewaki before turning and leading him to the Tendo guest room. Entering they found the room immaculate, whether to Ranma's need to having everything organized, or to Kasumi's cleaning it was unclear. Motioning to the turned down futon on the floor Nabiki said, "Well Kuno-baby, sweet dreams, I'll see you when you wake up."

Tatewaki turned to thank Nabiki, but found only the door closing by the time he had moved his head. Staring at the door for a second more, Tatewaki then turned his attention to the futon on the floor. As he did, the whole weight of the previous days fell upon him and he found himself exhausted. So he quickly turned off the overhead light, and climbing into the soft and clean smelling sheets, quickly fell into a deep and restful slumber.

Hours later he awoke, the light entering through the window, while still bright to his eyes, was slowly dimming. Tatewaki laid in bed for a few moments more, contemplating the dust motes as they danced in the waning sunlight. For the first time in a seemingly long while, he felt rested and at peace. Soon however his digestive system brought attention to the fact that he had been neglecting it of late with a loud and drawn out gurgle. Tatewaki grimaced slightly at the sudden stomach pains he was experiencing, and sat up in the futon with a hand over his midsection. Deciding that it was necessary to obtain sustenance, Tatewaki reluctantly left the comfort of the futon and stood fully upright. He made his way through the guest room door and noticing enticing smells coming from the lower half of the house, he then navigated the hallway and found the stairs leading downward.

Upon his decent, Tatewaki was greeted by the surprised face of Akane Tendo. She had spent the day at her friend Sayuri's house, and while Nabiki had informed their father of Tatewaki being their guest, she had somehow failed to be as kind to her sister. So Akane was understandably surprised to see Tatewaki in her house, wearing her father's clothes. "Upperclassman Kuno! What are you doing here?" Akane asked while noticeably paling.

Distantly, Tatewaki knew that since he obviously loved her, he should start to try and woo the beautiful girl who stood before him. But he really didn't feel up to the task, it felt somehow inappropriate. So he smiled a small sad smile, and opened his mouth to reply, when he was interrupted by Nabiki. "Don't worry about him sis, I found Kuno-baby here exhausted outside, so he's just here to rest up. He's probably still a little too tired to chase after you, but give him a couple more hours and he should be back to normal." Nabiki said as she swept in between the two. "Now come on Kuno, dinner is about to be served and you look like you're wasting away." She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the dinning room where Soun Tendo was already sitting at the head of the table. Tatewaki was shortly seated adjacent to Soun, and across the table from Nabiki and Akane, with the final place at the foot of the table left open for Kasumi since it was the closest to the kitchen.

Soun quietly contemplated the young man before him, of course he had heard of Tatewaki's deeds from not only Akane and Ranma, but from Nabiki as well. Further, he had seen Tatewaki in action on occasion when he had attacked Ranma in the Tendo home. If he had not seen with his own eyes the usual antics of Tatewaki, then he would never have believed the boy next to him was the same person described by his children and his future son-in-law. Soun saw none of the brash arrogance and ruthless confidence that had been the hallmarks of Tatewaki's character. Instead he saw before him a withdrawn and pensive young man, bowed by the weight of the world.

Quietly folding and setting aside the newspaper that he had been perusing, Soun remarked, "I heard about the recent death of your father, I'm very sorry for your loss. I heard that he was a good man." Akane reflected upon the loss of her own mother, and her heart went out to Tatewaki, and she nodded her head in agreement. Nabiki also reflected on her loss, and frowned slightly. If Tatewaki was going through even a fraction of the pain that she felt when her mother had died, was it really alright to continue to cheat him out of money? She quickly shied away from that thought however, and tried to focus on all the nice things she could do with the money that she had earned earlier.

Tatewaki for his part, was becoming used to hearing the empty condolences of strangers. However he was surprised by Soun's description of his father as a good man. Smiling in masochistic amusement, Tatewaki replied, "Well then it seems that we are thinking of two radically different individuals. For my father was many things, but I doubt that anyone who truly knew him would describe him as a good man." As he spoke, Tatewaki's hideous grin turned into a grimace and he turned his head so that no one at the table would be able to see the tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

Soun was shocked at Tatewaki's blunt words, but he could also understand Tatewaki's position. Everyone handles in their own ways, some are sad at the loss, some try to ignore the loss, and some like Tatewaki become angry and resentful of the lost person, blaming them for leaving. Soun was about to try and talk Tatewaki into seeing the death of his father in a more healthy light, but was delayed by Kasumi entering the room with her ams loaded with food.

The original meal that Kasumi had planned to help alleviate Tatewaki's pain had been instead served as lunch since he had gone to sleep shortly before it had been completed. When she had gone upstairs to check in on Tatewaki, Kasumi didn't have the heart to wake him up when he looked so peaceful, so she had redoubled her efforts and produced a dinner that was even more stunning than lunch had been.

Sadly, after the meal had been laid out and everyone had given Kasumi the obligatory thanks and compliments, the first few minutes of the meal dragged on in silence. The silence was at first hesitantly broken by Akane as she began to relate how she had spent her day, then as the subject of popular idols was brought up, she became more passionate in her speech. Soon, Kasumi and Nabiki joined her in the usual dining banter, revolving around several shallow subjects. Tatewaki was silent as he slowly ate, and Soun was silent as he watched the younger man quietly wrestle with his emotions as he tried to pretend to be unaffected.

Kasumi had indeed outdone herself in the preparation of the meal, but to Tatewaki, it might as well have been soggy bread picked up at a local convenience store, the food merely turned to ash in his mouth. Instead of concentrating on the delicious food before him, Tatewaki found himself strategizing. The first order of business would be to hire a new staff at the Kuno mansion the next day, when businesses would be open again. However Tatewaki realized that he needed to be somewhat frugal in expending the Kuno fortune since it was currently limited. He supposed that the house could get along well enough with only two maids, a butler, a chauffeur, and two chefs. The next order of business that he needed to address would be to reverse the decline of the Kuno funds. He needed to get a complete analysis of the current situation, then he needed to develop a solid plan that would invest the fortune in a more profitable manner than it currently was. Unfortunately, Tatewaki knew that his limited knowledge was no where near adequate to being up to this task. He needed the services of a professional investor.

Tatewaki's eyes briefly went to the face of Nabiki, who was distracted by a humorous story that Akane had just related, but Tatewaki mentally shook his head. He knew that nothing good would come of Nabiki knowing the specific details of the Kuno finances, also while she seemed to be remarkably successful in her personal investments, that was not nearly enough guarantee for Tatewaki to trust her with an account as large as his. He supposed that he needed to investigate and perform research on possible financial advisors when he returned home.

Tatewaki's revery was broken when Soun pleasantly inquired, "Well Kuno, you are in the same grade as Nabiki right? That means that you will be graduating soon. What plans do you have for the future?" Soun smiled as he asked this, he just wanted Tatewaki to share in the table conversation, which had largely died down as Akane had run out of things to say.

Tatewaki was caught flat footed. Truthfully, for most of his life, he had dedicated himself to the art of Kendo, pouring almost every waking hour into it, that was until he had met Akane. His goals then shifted to winning first her attention, then her heart. He had never really given much thought to his life other than that, merely taking it for granted that as long as he continued to do well enough in school he could do whatever else he wanted elsewhere. Of course now that had all changed. Not only was he about to graduate from high school, but he was now head of the Kuno household. He suddenly had responsibilities he had never really even thought of thrust upon him. He had to stop thinking only of and for himself, and start thinking about the future of the Kuno name. In light of that his previous goals seemed small and inadequate.

Seeing the young man hesitate, Soun tried to give him time to think by saying, "Well I know that many young people think that after high school they should immediately get a job since they don't really want to go through anymore schooling. But personally speaking I believe that if they are able to afford it, they should continue on to college and get an advanced degree. After all, as time goes by a college degree is becoming ever more necessary for being successful." Soun gave a guilty look at Kasumi as he said this, silently asking for her forgiveness at his lapse in adequate financial planning. But she missed it since she had suddenly found something on her plate infinitely absorbing.

Tatewaki had before only briefly entertained the thought of attending college. He knew that his grades, while not being at the top of the class, where still good enough to recommend him to several decent schools. But he needed time to analyze his choices. Would it be better for the family if he went to work immediately after school and tried to focus himself entirely on the affairs of the house, relying on investments to grow his fortune. Or would it perhaps be better if he attained a higher degree and was able to obtain a high paying job. But what if he flunked out of college? How damaging would that be to the finances of the Kuno fortune?

Deciding that this was another issue that he needed to address after quiet and careful consideration, Tatewaki turned to his host, "I'm afraid that I'm not too sure as to what my future plans are going to be. I thought that I had everything settled, but then my father died, so now I must change my plans. I'm no longer the eldest son of the Kuno family, responsible for my own actions. Now I am the head of the Kuno family, and I am responsible for everything that comes with the title." he said to Soun in a subdued tone of voice.

Nabiki and Akane starred across the table towards Tatewaki, as if they had never seen the boy before in their lives. It was as if some alien had come along and replaced the over-the-top, obnoxious, and disconnected from reality Kuno they knew with someone who was not only capable of rational thought, but aware of others besides himself. Soun for his part, nodded to himself. He was well aware of how fluid plans become after a tragedy such as the one which befell the young man before him. He was also dimly reminded of how well he handled the death of his wife, and made note of how much better Tatewaki seemed to be handling the death of his father.

Feeling the need to fill the lull in conversation that he had created, Tatewaki looked around and asked, "I was under the impression that the Foul ... that Ranma Saotome was living here. Is he not joining us for this wonderful repast?"

Soun managed to look both uncomfortable and embarrassed as he put his hand behind his head and replied, "Well, both Ranma and his father had to leave suddenly to go to Okinawa to find ... I mean they went there on a training trip. That's it, a training trip!" He chucked nervously as Tatewaki didn't seem to want to question his blatant lie.

"Okinawa, a wonderful place, especially this time of year." Tatewaki replied as he lifted his glass and starred at his dim reflection. "We used to have a beach house there years ago, but sadly it was heavily damaged in a typhoon and we sold it shortly thereafter." Kuno vividly remembered the clear ocean, the white sand, and the perfectly blue sky just outside the patio doors of the beach house. He also remembered how much his mother loved being there, and how beautiful she had been during one of her many walks along the shoreline.

Suddenly feeling his sadness return, Tatewaki fell silent, and the rest of the meal carried on without any further conversation. When the meal was over, Akane volunteered to help Kasumi clean up the table and dishes, while Soun picked up his paper and retreated to the back porch to finish reading it. Leaving Tatewaki to reflect on the grain lines in the top of the table, and Nabiki to reflect on the new Kuno sitting across from her.

"So Kuno-baby," Nabiki started, after her sisters had removed the last of the dishes from the table and the sound of the kitchen faucet had started. "Are you feeling any better now after a good sleep and a good meal?" She leaned her elbows on the table as Tatewaki raised his eyes to regard her.

"Yes, I am feeling much better than when you found me this morning. I must say that you were correct when you said that things would appear easier after a good rest." Tatewaki replied in a manner which shocked Nabiki due to its normalcy.

She had been quietly surprised all evening as Tatewaki acted like a normal human being for once, instead of an egotistical jerk. She had began to feel something strange towards the boy in front of her as she contemplated the drastic change in his behavior, and the drastic catalyst that had been necessary for him to act that way even briefly. That feeling being guilt. For perhaps the first time in her life Nabiki was starting to feel remorseful about a business transaction. She had begun to replay her actions in her mind and question whether it had been appropriate to take advantage of Tatewaki in his current state. She finally came to the conclusion that perhaps it had been rather mean of her to take Tatewaki's money without asking.

So steeling herself, Nabiki confessed, "Uh, Kuno-baby, earlier today I kinda went through your wallet and took some money to cover your expenses for staying here." Seeing his non-reaction at the news, Nabiki clarified, "It was over twenty thousand yen. But I was thinking that maybe that was somewhat overboard. Friends don't charge friends for helping them, and right now I think that what you need most is a friend, at least for today."

Tatewaki still looked nonplussed at her confession. "It's alright, consider it a consulting fee." He said smiling slightly. "Because I wanted to ask you a question anyway. What exactly are your plans after graduation?"

Nabiki was understandably confused by Tatewaki's reply. It must be nice to be rich enough that such a large amount of money means so little, she mused to herself. Shifting gears quickly, Nabiki replied, "Well I've been saving up for going to college, and if I can get the financial aid that I've applied for, I'm set. I'm planning on majoring in business administration, then getting a nice job at a large firm."

Tatewaki for his part was surprised at how completely prepared Nabiki was for the future. It seemed that unlike him she had actually thought about the prospect of life after high school for longer than ten minutes. Having satisfied his idle curiosity, Tatewaki moved on to a more personal question. "Also, I was wondering, what advice would you give someone who was just starting out keeping track of their finances?"

Nabiki regarded Tatewaki for a moment, quashing the momentary urge to say something flippant. Giving the new Tatewaki the benefit of the doubt, she answered honestly. "Well Kuno-baby, I guess it would depend on the size of the finances you are trying to track. If its a personal checking account, you could probably easily get by with doing that on paper. But if it were a larger amount of money, say hypothetically, a family's finances, then I would invest in getting a computer. There are a lot of computer programs out there that are specially built to work with money."

Tatewaki received this advice with a grain of salt. Having dedicated most of his life to Kendo, had left him woefully ignorant of most technological devices, including computers. However he knew that what Nabiki was saying was correct, anyone truly serious about money management almost always relied in some way on a computer. Therefore he needed not only to purchase a computer, but find someone willing to train him how to utilize it.

Tatewaki's train of thought was interrupted by the arrival of Kasumi, who had just finished the dishes a few minutes prior. "Here you go Kuno, I cleaned your clothes for you. I'm afraid that only your shirt was machine washable, but I tried to clean the jacket and pants as best as I was able." Kasumi said as she handed Tatewaki a pile of clothes.

Smiling at her kindness, Tatewaki replied, "I'm sure that you did a wonderful job. Excuse me while I change." So saying he stood and making his way past the sisters, traced his steps back to the bathroom. He quickly changed out of the borrowed clothes and left them in a neat pile on the counter, before donning his own clothes. He decided that the evening was too warm to comfortably wear his jacket, so leaving his top shirt button unfastened, he draped his jacket over his arm and waked back to where he had left the two Tendo daughters.

When Nabiki saw him, she rose from where she had been sitting and turned to face him. "Leaving so soon Kuno-baby?" She asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid that there is much work that needs to be done, and the sooner I return home, the sooner I can accomplish the tasks that I need to accomplish." Tatewaki replied, noticing Kasumi quietly slipping out the door in order to give the two some privacy.

Nabiki reached into her pocket and withdrew Tatewaki's watch, cuff links, wallet, and after a moment's hesitation, a wad of yen bills. "I was keeping these safe for you Kuno-baby, but here they are." Nabiki said with only a slight trace of reluctance.

Tatewaki had completely forgotten about his accessories, and had only remembered his wallet when Nabiki had mentioned going through it earlier. He reached down and reclaimed the cuff links and watch, putting the watch on and slipping the cuff links into his pocket. They were really too much of a hassle to put on without the help of a maid. And he then took his wallet and slipped it into another pocket.

"As I said earlier, feel free to keep the money as a consultation fee." Tatewaki said as he began to walk past Nabiki towards the front door. "After all, I've known you long enough to know that your services don't come cheaply."

Nabiki felt unusual as she watched Tatewaki walk away, for the first time in her life, she did not feel like she had earned the money in her hand. She also felt hurt at what Tatewaki had said, even though it was accurate.

As she watched Tatewaki open the door and walk out into the night which had quietly settled while they had been eating dinner, Nabiki knew that even though she had made over twenty thousand yen that day, she was never going to spend any of it.

More to come.

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Thanks for the Reviews

Still looking for beta

Notes: Probably only one more chapter after thi


	3. The Sweep

I do not own Ranma 1/2

**Miles to Go Before I Wake**

**Chapter3**

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Shortly after safely arriving at his home, Tatewaki's seemingly ever-present weariness returned with full force. Something about the long and desolate corridors of his family's estate tired him. It almost seemed as if the darkness of the halls absorbed his vitality, while the unbroken silence smothered the whole area in a blanket of somberness. His home had truly become a place which invited only whispers and forbade laughter. At least the joyful laughter of the sane Tatewaki ruminated to himself with the ghost of a smile as he held the image of his sister in his mind for an instant.

Wearily he walked the corridors of the Kuno estate, each step more of a challenge than the last, until finally he reached his own chambers. There he became so overcome that despite sleeping through most of the day, Tatewaki fell upon his bed fully clothed and promptly fell into both a dreamless and restless slumber.

He was awoken several hours later when the morning sunlight finally reached his face after having made the arduous journey of crossing his bedroom floor and walls, more often than not reflecting off the surface of one of the innumerable photos of his two true loves. Blearily Tatewaki opened his eyes, for a moment confused between reality and his imagination. Blinking rapidly though, he quickly fell into the proper state of mind, and felt little surprise at the fact that for some reason he felt as if he had not slept at all. In fact, he could almost swear that he was even more tired than when he had gone to bed. A far cry from the restful sleep he had enjoyed at the Tendo household. Briefly he considered what the difference was between the two places that would be drastic enough to disrupt his rest, but he quickly banished that thought with the realization that he needed to get out of bed and begin the day.

There were a number of duties and decisions that Tatewaki was now responsible for since he was now the head of the Kuno household. And perhaps if he accomplished them then one day the Kuno name would be well regarded again and its bearers could be proud once more. Smiling slightly at his still sleep laden deep thoughts, Tatewaki climbed out of bed and made his way over to his closet in order to change out of the clothes he had been wearing for over two days.

Tatewaki's brief morning weary hilarity was cut short however, when stumbling toward his closet to change outfits; he took note of the many pictures and posters he had scattered across his room. They were all of his two greatest loves, roughly equally divided in quantity. But for the first time that morning, he noticed that all of the pictures where candid shots, not a single one had either of the girls looking directly towards the camera. Therefore, for the first time, Tatewaki realized that neither of his loves were looking straight at him, it was almost as if they had averted their gaze from something too disgusting to look upon.

Tatewaki felt something deep within him suddenly shift as he made this startling revelation. He had the urge to grab the photos and shake them to make them look at him, to pay attention to him, to love him. But that was just a passing idiotic fantasy. They were after all, merely photographs. Tatewaki's urge soon cooled and transformed itself into the desire to tear the images from the walls and rip them to shreds, to utterly destroy them. But he hesitated to act upon his impulse. After all these where the images of his true loves. He could not truly desire to do them harm could he?

Pushing aside those dark and gloomy thoughts, Tatewaki averted his eyes as much as possible from the many displays of his affection and threw open the doors to his closet. Inside he found row after row of his normal kendo uniform, with only a few formal outfits to break the monotony. For some reason that particular morning, Tatewaki did not feel up to wearing the kendo outfit. He felt as if he would be more comfortable wearing something less ... eccentric. However finding nothing else suitable for merely wearing around the mansion, Tatewaki reluctantly changed into his normal outfit, transforming himself into the image of the Blue Thunder that most of Nerima was familiar with.

Trying to put aside his minor feelings of discomfort from wearing his normal clothes, he turned to the other pressing matter which had presented itself to him shortly after he awoke, the gnawing hunger in the pit of his stomach. Tatewaki considered his options. Truly he would be nothing but a fool if he trusted anything in the main kitchen since it had been left to the tender mercies of his sister for a rather extended period of time. Any food product within her reach soon became a potential platform for poison or worse.

The only other kitchen on the premises that could potentially have foodstuffs remaining untouched would be the servant's kitchen out in the servant's quarters. They might have left the Kuno estate in such haste as to leave a few of their possessions behind. However Tatewaki quickly negated that option since not only would it be beneath him to partake of food purchased for plebeians, but it also occurred to him that he had very little knowledge of food preparation, thus any food left behind would likely be of little use to him.

Suddenly the solution came to him, and he lightly tapped his forehead in amusement as to how he could have overlooked such a simple solution. "Sasuke, come here immediately, I'm in need of your skills." Tatewaki pronounced to the room in general. He masterfully hid his surprise as his family's ninja popped into his room through a trap door in the floor that Tatewaki had never known existed.

Sasuke skillfully jumped into the room, narrowly avoiding the trap door as it fell back into place behind him, once more meshing seamlessly with the rest of the floor. "What is it you wish of me master Kuno?" Sasuke asked from his supplicant position, kneeling before Tatewaki.

For his part Tatewaki largely ignored his ninja servant as he cupped his chin in thought. Making a decision, Tatewaki proclaimed, "Sasuke, as I'm sure that you are aware we are currently bereft of the majority of our serving staff." Pausing a moment to tally the remaining members, Tatewaki went on in his normal, arrogant tone. "In fact, you are our only remaining servant. For the moment at least. This of course has left us without a proper chef whom I would willingly trust with providing me meals. Thus I am making it your duty to go forth and purchase what sustenance I require at least thrice each day."

Tatewaki had begun to smile while thinking of the culinary delights about to pleasure his taste buds, however when he chanced to look down and regard the bowed head of Sasuke, he felt that strange lurch in his chest that was starting to become familiar. His smile slowly melted as he remembered the hardships that his family had over the years inflicted upon Sasuke, and to a lesser extent the other servants.

For perhaps the first time Tatewaki felt, well for the lack of a better term, bad about the way that he and his family had been treating others. Quickly searching his brain for some manner in which to make up such treatment to Sasuke, Tatewaki continued. "Also, since the absence of a chef seems to affect us all, while you are procuring foodstuffs for myself, feel free to purchase whatever you wish to consume as well." Upon further reflection Tatewaki added, "In addition, please visit my sister and if she so desires, purchase something for her as well."

Tatewaki had continued to gaze upon the bent head of his ninja as he had been giving orders, so he was a witness to when Sasuke raised his tear-filled eyes to his master's and exclaimed, "Oh master Kuno! Never before has there been a servant as happy as I am now. Truly I must be blessed to be in the service of such a master, so kind, so merciful, so generous, so ..." As he spoke he had tearfully embraced Tatewaki's leg, and his pronouncement of devotion was cut short when Tatewaki began to try and shake him off.

Tatewaki successfully flung the ninja off of his leg, then cleared his throat behind his fist. "Yes, I am fully aware of how wonderful I am, but do not waste your gratitude with meaningless words, show me your conviction with your actions. By the way, do you still have access to a Kuno account?" When Sasuke replied in the affirmative, Tatewaki sighed in relief, he wouldn't have to give up one of his credit cards after all. As Sasuke prepared to execute his order Tatewaki remembered one last detail. "Oh yes Sasuke, while you are out, if you happen to see some tasteful clothing that would compliment me in a casual setting, would you be so kind to purchase it? I feel that perhaps my current wardrobe is ... inadequate. At least for the future leader of the Kuno clan." Sasuke made a final curt affirmative nod and quickly opened the room's window and leapt out.

It almost felt good, Tatewaki could feel himself slipping back into his old mindset, he could almost picture himself as a respected feudal with vassals to cater to his every whim. It was an old and familiar dream that he had turned to for comfort for several years, and he felt himself about to slip back into his comfortable mindset where he could pretend that everything was as it should be. But suddenly the image of his late father flashed before his eyes. His sick and deranged father who had abandoned his family to indulge in a personal fantasy, one that might have started out not too differently than Tatewaki's own.

Then an image of his sister came to the front of Tatewaki's conscious. She had been a quiet and thoughtful child, shy and reserved due to her fear of the world outside their compound. Once their parents had been forced to leave them, Tatewaki had promised to protect her as if he were a true samurai and she was his princess.

But now she was prideful and arrogant, and he had become just as arrogant and delusional. They had taken to their respective roles too well. He had become a noble warrior and she a beautiful princess, but they had exaggerated the parts so much that they were only cruel caricatures of who they once had been. For perhaps the first time Tatewaki fully recognized in his sister the same illness that plagued his father and himself as well, the insane tendency to drown out the real world by completely embracing a fantasy. His father had died while still suffering from his delusions, but perhaps it was not too late for his sister, perhaps it wasn't too late even for him

Then for some reason his traitorous mind brought forth unbidden a memory of Nabiki Tendo, not as she usually was, cold and condescending, regarding him with nothing except contempt and mockery. No, he saw her as she had been last night. As he had been making his exit she had seemed almost a different person, as if she had regarded him as something other than a misguided fool that others only suffered due to his fortune.

Tatewaki felt his resolve firm. Not only did he want to keep his sister from becoming another lunatic such as his father, her life likely short and with no one other than him to mourn her, but suddenly he wanted Nabiki Tendo to look at him in a different manner as well. Tatewaki didn't want Nabiki to look upon him as if she had weighed and measured him and found him wanting. Neither did he want her to look at him with the pity that he had felt she regarded him with the previous evening. No, he wanted Nabiki to regard Tatewaki with ... respect, the respect afforded to an equal. Suddenly it was very important to Tatewaki that Nabiki respect him not for his name, or fortune, but because he was a man, not a fool.

Gathering himself and his determination, Tatewaki quickly took stock of his situation. His parents were ... gone. So he was now head of the Kuno clan. A clan once powerful and respected across all of Japan, now only known and mocked in the Nerima ward. He had no other servants than his faithful ninja, whose faith seemed to be waning. He and his sister lived in a mansion which had more room devoted to booby traps than actual living quarters, funded by an account that had withered under decades of mismanagement and neglect. And most importantly he was still in his room, which meant that he was surrounded by the images of women that suddenly he was not entirely sure loved him. Deciding that his mental faculties would perform more efficiently in different surroundings Tatewaki strode out of his room and soon found his feet leading him to his grandfather's office.

For some odd reason Tatewaki felt relieved once he entered the office. The books lining the walls gave the promise of great knowledge and unapologetic logic. Both these where something that Tatewaki was only now starting to realize that he lacked, and because of that lack was less of a person for it. Unlike Tatewaki's own room, and much of the rest of the house, the personal touches in this room were subtle and elegant. They did not scream for a person's attention and recognition of the owner of the room. Instead they simply informed anyone who entered the room that it was inhabited by a person of taste, intellect, and power. For the first time, Tatewaki fully noticed the small but beautiful bronze statuettes around the office, as well as the elegant yet simple workmanship which had gone into the furniture. It made him feel as if his own rooms were garish and overblown with undeserved self importance.

As he made his way to the comfortable leather chair behind the desk, Tatewaki also noticed the thick layer of dust that coated almost everything in the room. This of course reminded him that he needed to hire a new staff for the mansion, and since it would most likely be the one of the easier tasks before him, he might as well start the day lining up possible applicants to be interviewed to fill the vacant positions. Tatewaki knew that there would be a rather long list of people who would leap at the chance to serve in a household as prestigious as the Kuno's.

Settling back into his seat Tatewaki looked around for the telephone, and was surprised to find none. He began to check the desk's drawers, then under the desk, then on the bookshelves, then under the furniture. In the end he found only a single telephone outlet in the office, and it was pulled partly out of the wall, as if someone had jerked the phone cable from it in a fit or rage. Sighing to himself, Tatewaki knew that he had to leave the comfort the office room seemed to provide him, and began to search through the house for first a telephone, and then a telephone directory, having only used them on the rare occasions that Sasuke had not been available to make the calls for him.

Tatewaki was beginning to grow ever more frustrated with the minor problems that seemed to crop up whenever he tried to solve a larger problem, but he imagined first his father as he would have handled the problem, probably not even recognizing the problem at all, and then he imagined how his grandfather would have handled any potential problem. Tatewaki envisioned a stern and strong man who let nothing stop him from his goals, whether the difficulty was a lack of food, or the absence of a line of communication, Tatewaki felt that his grandfather would have solved these problems without dwelling on them, devoting his attention only to what was truly important. With this image in mind Tatewaki ignored the small voice in the back of his head trying to convince him that no one really expected him to accomplish anything, especially without such rudimentary things as a telephone. He knew that no one expected anything from him, but if he wanted to change that perception, then he would have to suffer through the minor trials of life and prove people wrong. With a smile on his face and confidence in his steps, Tatewaki continued to search through the long dark halls and wide dark rooms of the Kuno estate.

Several hours later Tatewaki held his head in his hands, trying to gently massage his growing headache away. He had been able to find not only a telephone and a directory, but also a pad of paper and a pen which he had not thought he had needed, but had proven very useful to have. The first few calls he had made to agencies specializing in domestic help had either begun to laugh hysterically or simply hang up when he had mentioned the name Kuno. Tatewaki had quickly gone through the list of local agencies, and had broadened his search into surrounding wards. However he had been wrong in assuming that the Kuno was no longer famous, no matter where he inquired they had heard of his family and its ... eccentricities.

Tatewaki had started his exercise in humiliation via phone in the kitchen, where he had at last found a telephone, which was a rather strange place in his opinion. However a few hours into the ordeal, after Sasuke had come and gone almost unnoticed by Tatewaki as engrossed as he was in trying to reason with the many people he had tried to deal with, Tatewaki had been forced to leave the kitchen when his sister had arrived and began to either cook, or experiment, he had not been paying enough attention do distinguish a difference. He had however decided that a cooking pot should not sound like it was either about to explode, or give birth. So Tatewaki had made a hasty retreat, unnoticed by his sister. He had found refuge in the unused dinning room. It had been constructed to host dinner parties during the winter when the Kuno name still had enough prestige to conduct dinner parties. However due to its optimal positioning for late winter evenings, the room was considered uninhabitable the rest of the year. Tatewaki could not remember his family ever using the room in his lifetime.

Thankfully the room had been wired for telephones and the long low table was excellent for spreading out his work. It was soon littered with several Nerima telephone directories, then by several Itabashi and Suginami directories. Since Sasuke had returned Tatewaki merely had him go and retrieve them from wherever they came from. Several hours, wards, and quiet apologizes mixed with humor tinted denials and the occasional shouting match later, Tatewaki had finally hired a new staff for the Kuno household. Apparently the stories of the Kuno's insanity had reached as far away as Edogawa, but most of it was not believed. Still Tatewaki had to agree to a rate almost three times anyone else had to pay, and he had to provide "non-hostile working conditions" whatever those where, as well as a host of other stipulations. Through his headache, Tatewaki felt a minor sense of achievement and perhaps victory. It was a contract filled with stipulations and rules, almost to the point that it seemed as if the servants had more rights than the masters, and it was outrageously expensive, but for the first time Tatewaki had accomplished something tangible that maybe not his father, but perhaps his grandfather would have approved of. The Kuno's new butler, cook, and two maids would start work the next Monday.

Tatewaki smiled slightly to himself despite the pain, it was a minor victory to be sure, but to be honest at that moment he would take such victories that he could get. He pushed himself up from the table that had become his de facto desk during the day. The end that he had occupied was cluttered with several thick phone directories, as well as several sheets of paper that he had filled with abstract doodles he had created while on the phone as well as minor notes he had jotted down with regards to pay rate and his family's obligations. Apparently deadly booby traps went against some new law or some such. The cord for the telephone wound around the piles of papers and books, as well as the remnants of the late lunch that Sasuke had unexpectedly provided for him, stretching from the wall to the modern looking white plastic phone that seemed incongruous with the rest of the room.

Of course moving anything from one place in the house to the other created a somewhat anachronistic effect, owing to the fact that most of the rooms in the Kuno mansion had been redecorated at different times and by different people with wildly different tastes. The majority of the mansion had retained its original early Meiji era decoration, but some of the rooms such as the dining room that Tatewaki was occupying had been singled out to reflect a different taste. For example the dining room was decorated with nineteenth century Europe in mind. While obviously the late head of the Kuno's had redecorated his own area with a Hawaiian motif. The kitchen had been designed to be ultra modern and industrial, while one of the parlors and the original library that Tatewaki had later turned into his kendo training room had been influenced by Art Deco. One of the smaller bathrooms had even been redone with a Romanesque feel, and while Tatewaki appreciated the art and craftsmanship that went into creating the mosaic that flowed across three of its walls, he felt that it was a bit crowded in the room due to all of the columns that had been crammed into every nook and cranny. If he remembered correctly, it was now being used to store cleaning supplies.

Perhaps the insanity that afflicted the Kuno family was not a sudden invention of the latest generations Tatewaki mused to himself as he stepped away from the table and began to walk towards the small garden that was Mr. Turtles' home. He had no love for the creature, but he knew that it was likely that his sister would be somewhere near her pet this time of day, and he had many things to discuss with her. As for the other matters of great importance, such as realigning the family's finances, Tatewaki felt drained from the ordeals he had to overcome already that day, and knew that the rest could keep until the next day.

Tatewaki was softly surprised to find his sister was not where he expected her to be. Her pet crocodile was alone in his pond, staring at Tatewaki disinterestedly. "Sasuke." Tatewaki said to the empty garden while returning the reptile's gaze. The loyal ninja fell majestically from a nearby tree.

"Yes master Kuno?" Sasuke replied once he had quickly righted himself from the face first landing and knelt before Tatewaki.

Mr. Turtle lost interest in the antics of the two humans and with a quiet splash turned around and pretended to sleep. Tatewaki allowed his eyes to leave the crocodile and roam the garden, casually examining the same plants that he had seen a thousand times before. "Sasuke, I need to have a conversation with my sister, and I suppose with you as well." He said with a moments pause. "Please be so kind as to inform her that I will be awaiting her presence in this section of the gardens. Also I would like some tea made, see to it."

Sasuke bounded away with a "Yes master Kuno!" and skillfully avoiding the open door to the house, instead leapt to the overhang of the doorway and only had to spend a few seconds balancing himself before disappearing up and over the roof. Tatewaki for his part ignored the antics of the family ninja and walked over to the nearby outdoor furniture, sinking gracefully into one of the lawn chairs. He reclined against the back of the chair and closed his eyes, enjoying the sunlight that had just peeked through one of the puffy clouds dotting the sky.

Tatewaki knew his sister better than anyone, so he knew that what he was about to say to her would likely be ... distasteful to her. Hopefully he would not upset her enough that she drugged him and tried to feed him to Mr. Turtle. Again. While wracking his brain to find the best possible way to present his arguments to his sister, Tatewaki fell afoul of the peaceful and warm sunlight and dropped into a light sleep, which was only interrupted by the soft clinking of china. He sat up and found Sasuke adjusting the arrangement of a tea set on the outdoor table situated between the lawn chair Tatewaki was reclined upon and another which was empty.

"Ah thank you Sasuke." Tatewaki said as the ninja prepared a cup of tea to his master's exacting specifications and handed it to him. "Were you able to find my sister and inform her of my request for her presence?" Tatewaki asked before taking a small sip of the hot beverage.

"Yes master Kuno." Sasuke replied, bowing before Tatewaki. "I found her in her practice room going through her daily exercises. She informed me of the virtues of keeping in practice despite having a reprieve from actual matches. When I told her that you wanted to see her, she told me to inform you that she will come once she is finished."

Tatewaki was irritated that his sister had not dropped everything that she was doing in order to answer his summons. No, irritated wasn't the right word, it was to strong and harsh. Perhaps disappointed would be a better fit, though it too felt incorrect in describing his emotions. Tatewaki continued to ponder his emotions as he slowly sipped his tea and watched a nearby tree wave in the gentle breeze which touched only the highest points, not deigning to allow itself to be felt by those as low to the ground as Tatewaki. Sasuke continued to kneel, though he allowed his mind to start to wander, thinking that despite the new Kuno he had seen earlier this morning, maybe it had been a bad idea not to run away with the rest of the serving staff. Mr. Turtle continued to ignore them both.

The two men continued on their separate trains of thoughts with only the occasional interruption of Tatewaki refilling his cup, while they waited on Kodachi to arrive. Eventually they were broken from their revelries as they heard soft footsteps coming from the house behind them. Kodachi emerged into the afternoon sunlight wearing her normal black practice leotard with the gracefully practiced poise of a gymnast/martial artist.

She took the empty seat across from Tatewaki, as he straightened up in his own chair and silently regarded her as she made herself comfortable. Once Kodachi had situated herself and had begun to prepare her tea, Tatewaki broke the silence. "Dearest sister," He started, "Is this not one of the most lovely days of the year? I was just thinking to myself that the only improvement that could be added to the perfection of today would be your presence." Tatewaki ended this declaration with a dramatic sweep of his hand to bring Kodachi's attention to the beauty of the garden that they had both had sat in dozens if not hundreds of times.

Kodachi daintily blew on her tea to cool it down to an acceptable temperature before responding to Tatewaki. "Dearest brother, I do not mean to be rude, however I sincerely doubt that you expressed a wish to take tea with me in order to increase your enjoyment of today. In fact I would hazard the speculation that if you actually wished to enjoy the beauty of nature, you would have tried to put as much distance between my person and yourself as possible." She said all this while looking down into her tea, waiting patiently for it to cool, not eve acknowledging Tatewaki's presence. She finally decided that the temperature was correct and with the elegance born of years of practice she took her first sip, still without looking up.

Tatewaki let his arm drop to his side. He too decided to sip from his tea cup, in order to allow him time to organize his thoughts. Apparently Kodachi was not in the mood to try and pretend that they were living in a perfect world today and that they had a loving relationship between them. It seemed that she wanted to be frank, direct, and honest. Hoping that Kodachi was truly expecting him to be blunt, and not punish him for it afterwards, Tatewaki set his cup down and decided to tell his sister the truth. Perhaps for the first time in almost ten years.

"You might have been correct in your assessment of my person a few weeks ago, truly at that time I was much more selfish, unconcerned with how my actions impacted either your life, or father's." Tatewaki said with a sigh as he turned his head and began to stare at an unremarkable patch of grass through half-lidded eyes. "However recently I have realized that I can not continue to be so selfish. I must think of others before myself now..."

"Now that father is dead you mean." Kodachi interrupted. Tatewaki quickly turned to look at her, but she was still regarding her tea, seeming almost as if she hadn't even spoken.

He turned back to the interesting piece of ground and continued. "Yes, since father has died. I have become the head of the Kuno household. I know that might seem like a slight thing to you seeing as how we lived by ourselves for so long before the return of father. Yet it has made me realize a number of things, many of which I wish I did not have to face." Tatewaki paused, reaching for his tea and taking a sip, allowing Kodachi ample time to respond, however she remained silent.

"I have had to face such unpleasantries as the simple fact that we cannot continue living like this. We cannot keep trying to live in a dream world hoping that reality will not try to encroach upon us. That is what our dear father did. He ended insane,alone, and unloved. I ask you do you truly wish for the same to happen to us? To yourself?" Tatewaki set his teacup down forcefully, waiting his sister's response.

Kodachi continued to stare into the depths of her own tea, but quietly she began to reply. "Alone, unloved, insane. What colorful terms you choose to describe our father, not even cold in his grave." Kodachi finally looked up, capturing Tatewaki's eyes with a gaze of restrained anger, as she began to speak louder. "What right do you have to criticize father in such a manner? You say he was insane, eccentric I will grant you, but insane? I think not. As for being alone, he had us, and the respect of his peers. He was hardly alone, unlike someone such as yourself. I notice that you never bring over one of your many friends, or even one of your even more populous girlfriends."

Tatewaki bristled at this jab, and was about to interrupt his sister, but she would not let up. "As for unloved, why I am no longer sure of your love, but I did love him, in my own way. And I know that mother loved him as well."

Tatewaki challenged his sister's stare with his own as he quietly replied, "If she loved him so much, then why did she kill herself rather than stay with him? Dear sister."

Kodachi held his eyes for a moment longer until she fully realized what he had said. "You dare!" She exclaimed while suddenly standing. "You dare to criticize your own father while he is only recently dead. You dare to drag mother's ... absence into the matter in an effort to disgrace your own father! You are even more deranged than I had thought. Dear brother!" Kodachi started to move towards the door to the mansion.

"Kodachi!" Kuno said in as authoritarian a tone as he could. His sister stopped and turned to face him once more. "My father was not much of a person, and he was less of a father. However he did manage to teach me at least one thing, that no matter how much we wish otherwise, reality is not nice, it is not fair, and it does not care about what we want. Now that he is dead, I am the head of the Kuno family. That means that it is my responsibility. This name, this house, this ninja, and you, all are my responsibility now. I know that father shirked this duty, but I will not."

Tatewaki took a breath, his sister still stood, mesmerized. "I know that I have not been the best brother to you, despite what we pretend. I know that for too long I have ignored you, and for that I apologize. I want to..." He sighed, he just did not know the right words to express what he wanted to say. "I want to make sure that what happened to mother and father never happen you us. I don't want us to be so locked into a fantasy world that when the real world finally intrudes we have no other recourse but to deny it to the final possible measure. I want you to live a long and happy life." The last was said barely above a whisper, but Kodachi heard it.

She replied in an almost as quiet voice. "Dear brother, if you truly desire my happiness, then stay out of my affairs, stay out of my life!" She began to shout. "Oh now you want to be a good and loving brother, concerned about his little sister. Well it is far too late for that. I might have loved you once because you were my brother. But now, now I just hate you because once you were my brother, and now you are merely another fixture in this house. You are just like the rest of them, you don't love me, you don't even like me!" With that, she turned and strode towards the house.

Tatewaki knew that perhaps now was not the best time, but he doubted that anytime would be good for what he was about to say. "Kodachi." He said once more, in a much more subdued manner.

"What?" She practically shrieked as she turned to him again.

"I know that I have done nothing to deserve your love, but nonetheless I am Tatewaki Kuno, the leader of the Kuno clan, and there will be changes made. I spent today hiring a new serving staff, they will start next week. I expect that you will be kind and courteous to them, I don't know if I can replace them if they decide to quit. Further I have taken over the family finances, and I have found that we need to be more frugal in our spending. Please do not make any major purchases without first consulting with me." With each sentence he said, Tatewaki watched his sister's fury increase. Feeling that he had said enough, he lapsed into silence.

"Is that all Master Kuno?" Kodachi asked through clenched teeth. "Do I have your permission to leave, Master Kuno?"

Tatewaki wearily nodded his head in defeat. He listened to her receding footsteps as he contemplated his tea which had grown quite cold. He knew that he was a bad brother, and his actions would only infuriate Kodachi for the conceivable future. He hoped that one day she would be able to look back and realize that he acted not out of spite, but love.

Sasuke chose that moment to gently clear his throat. Tatewaki had almost completely forgotten about the ninja during his conversation with Kodachi. Quickly recovering his bearings Tatewaki turned his attention to Sasuke. "Well, yes, as I'm sure you heard, next week we will have a new staff coming to work for the Kuno household."

"Yes maser Kuno." There was only respect in the way Sasuke said it, but remembering how his sister had flung the title in his face, Tatewaki felt uneasy.

"You know Sasuke, you could just call me mister Kuno, or even just sir." Tatewaki was tempted to add the title Blue Thunder, but felt that the joke would be in bad taste in the present circumstances. "Anyway, before the new staff starts, I need you to go through the mansion and remove all the booby traps."

Sasuke looked up at Tatewaki incredulously. "But master Kuno, without the traps how will I be able to guarantee your safety, or the security of your property?"

Tatewaki leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I know it is highly improper, but I'm afraid that the staffing agency was quite adamant about their removal before they agreed to send anyone over. If I understand correctly, there are some households in Japan who for one reason or another lack the assistance of a family ninja. I believe that they rely on some sort of alert system that contacts the local law enforcement office when someone tries to illegally enter their home. Perhaps we should look into that option."

Sasuke's eyes began to fill with tears as he replied, "But master Kuno that would mean you would be relying on the police to protect you. I would no longer have a purpose in life."

"Now now Sasuke, you know that you fill so many other roles besides defending the Kuno estate. For instance, I do not believe that I can carry this alerting system with me, so you will still need to protect my person." Tatewaki replied with a comforting dismissal wave.

"So I will still be of some use to you master Kuno?" Sasuke said, clasping his hands before him in joy.

Tatewaki smiled kindly, "Please Sasuke, call me mister Kuno or sir. And no one will ever be able to replace you. But as I said, the new staff does not start until next week, so between now and then I expect you to dismantle your traps. Also, now more than ever I am reluctant to eat anything from this house for fear of my sister doing something which we both would regret. Therefore I would like you to continue purchasing all meals for both of us, as well as my sister if she would like."

Sasuke stood and saluted. "I understand. I will immediately go to procure dinner. Then I will get started on dismantling the Washing Machine of Destruction." He leapt to the tree that he had fallen out of, momentarily hesitating. "By the way master Kuno, I left a new set of clothes in your room. I hope that they meet your approval." With that he disappeared over the wall of the Kuno estate.

Tatewaki had not heard the last statement of Sasuke. Actually he had heard it, it just did not penetrate his consciousness. He had already returned to thoughts of his sister, and how much he had failed her over the years. How much she now evidently hated him. He wished that somehow he could show her his thoughts and conclusions, so that she would think the way he did, and believe in him. Then strangely Tatewaki began to think about the many other women in his life that he wished would better understand him. Akane Tendo, the Pig-tailed Goddess, Nabiki ...

Mr. Turtle settled deeper into his pond and let out a quiet snore as the breeze from earlier returned and cause a few leaves from the tree to fall down into the garden, landing on the table holding the tea set. Tatewaki did not notice them as he raised his cup to his lips and drank his tea. It was ice cold, but he was so lost in thought that he did not notice.

More to come.

* * *

Author's Note:

I apologize for the length of time between the last posting and this one. Sadly the glamorous life of a graduate research assistant reared its head. Nothing like spending countless hours gathering, organizing, and analyzing data for an asinine paper that won't have your name on it. But hey, whatever as long as it pays tuition.

You may notice that this not the last chapter as advertised in the previous one. I found trying to squeeze character development into the same space as the climax cause this piece to become ponderous and fall from the plateau of adequacy into the depths of mediocrity.

This is still unbetad. Apparently I must continue to write as I live, alone.


	4. Downy Flake

I do not own Ranma 1/2

**Miles to Go Before I Wake**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

It had been three weeks since the start of summer, and as usual the season was a mixed blessing for Nabiki. Obviously since school was out she had more free time to devote to the things which truly mattered in life, things such as shopping, reading manga, and manipulating people to her advantage. However with no school many of her fellow classmates and potential customers had decided to go on vacation and take a break from the hectic life inherent in living in Nerima.

In addition, the summer was both good and bad news for Nabiki's information network. Her subordinates no longer had school to occupy them, and were therefore free to devote as much time as she needed to information gathering, but at the same time many had decided to go on vacation as well. Thus while her minions were gathering data faster and more efficient than before, there were fewer of them so there had appeared a few gaps in the information network available to Nabiki.

Only one of those gaps had been deliberate however. Any information about the Kuno family had been strictly censored. Nabiki had felt something that she couldn't easily define all those weeks ago when she had last seen Tatewaki, something that she wasn't sure was good or bad. Something she hadn't been able to easily identify.

So she had decided that it would be a good idea if she took a break from the situation until she was able to accurately define what the situation was. She had used this flimsy excuse as a reason to forbid her subordinates from gathering any data on the dealings of the Kuno household, or if they did learn anything, to keep it from her.

For a reason she couldn't or wouldn't even reveal to herself, Nabiki felt that it was safer if she had as little to do with Tatewaki as possible. When she had seen him at his lowest point, and he had been a different person. That change had... scared Nabiki. It was as if one of the stable supports for her life had shifted. Tatewaki had changed from being a harmless and lucrative idiotic nuisance into an actual person with the ability to feel, and to hurt.

Nabiki had decided to use this information sabbatical to come to grips with the change, and had nobly put off this endeavor by almost every means at her disposal. She had spent the first week of the vacation going from store to store with her friends, disposing of a large percentage of her savings by buying everything from new clothes to new reading material. But then they had traitorously left her by leaving on vacation with their families. Nabiki had then spent the following week tracking down and collecting on all the outstanding debts owed her before they too skipped town.

After that Nabiki had just about run out of options when Ranma and his father finally returned from Okinawa. Without a solution to their curses of course, just deep suntans and a few dirty looks from Ranma and angry mutterings about a father willing to sell his son for a tourist's map of a buried treasure. That had been a week ago, and after life had settled back into its familiar rhythms, Nabiki had quickly found herself becoming bored and dangerously close to contemplating the forbidden subject that was Tatewaki Kuno.

As a last ditch effort, Nabiki was rereading one of her favorite manga in front of the television while only peripherally paying attention to the drama unfolding in the other half of the room. It seemed that Ryoga had just returned from one of his epic journeys around the block and through Europe.

"Here Akane, I-I brought something for you." Ryoga said as he lowered his pack to the ground and started to rummage around in it.

"Oh that was nice of you Ryoga, but you didn't have to get anything for me." Akane replied. Ranma just rolled his eyes and moved closer while pretending to be disinterested.

Ryoga eventually found whatever it was he had been digging around for and with a triumphant flourish extracted it from the backpack and held it up for all to see. It was a small cloth sack which Ryoga swiftly opened to reveal a small bouquet of intertwined blown glass tulips which started out dark green near the stems but slowly faded into translucent pink at the buds.

"I picked it up near Kyoto. I think." Ryoga said while gently handing it to Akane and not reading the small sticker on one of the stems which declared the bouquet a product of Denmark.

"Oh its beautiful Ryoga! Thank you." Akane cooed as she examined the glass flowers minutely. She then turned to Ranma and said, "Don't you think its a wonderful gift Ranma?"

For his part Ranma felt no need to add to his rival's ego, an overinflated one in Ranma's opinion. "Eh, its just a bunch of glass." He said while turning slightly to contemplate whatever was on television, as if it was more interesting than Ryoga's gift.

Ranma's swift turn however had the unfortunate consequence of jarring Akane's arm while she was trying to show the flowers to him. This in turn resulted in her losing her grip on the fragile flowers and they swiftly plummeted to the floor and with a delicate crash exploded into a million fragments.

Akane watched the fall and the resulting destruction and responded with a disappointed, "Oh." and a sad expression. Ryoga on the other hand stared at the tiny glass shards as if they had made up the physical manifestation of his heart. After all reasoned Nabiki to herself, who knew just how long ago they had been purchased, and how long Ryoga must have carried them around, always having to be careful not to crush the delicate glass whenever he traveled.

Of course with the cause of all the pain in his life standing before him, it wasn't long before Ryoga's sadness transformed into near endless rage. "Ranma! How dare you deliberately destroy Akane's gift! You have no idea of the Hell I went through to bring it to her! Prepare to die!" He shouted out while separating his umbrella from his pack.

Before Ryoga's outburst Ranma had looked slightly remorseful, his glance moving from the broken glass to Akane's disappointed face, resting on Ryoga's expression of disbelief and woe. Once Ryoga snapped into his usual rage however, Ranma also quickly slipped into his usual arrogantly defiant smirk.

"Bring it on Ryoga, its not like you won't be going through the same store again in about ten minutes anyway." Ranma said while assuming a defensive stance. With a roar of rage Ryoga attacked with his umbrella and Ranma quickly countered. Akane meanwhile began to try and defuse the situation and separate the two combatants.

About this time Nabiki tuned out the fight. The rivalry between Ryoga and Ranma may morph and change the way it instigates the fights between them, but once the fight was joined the outcome was always inevitable. The two combatants would continue to exchange ever more powerful blows, causing all sorts of damage, until finally Ryoga became exhausted or Akane managed to subdue Ranma via blunt force trauma.

Nabiki's attention was only recaptured after a few moments however when the fight spilled into the street through a hole in the wall that had not existed a few seconds earlier. It wasn't the property damage that pulled Nabiki out of her manga however. Though she cataloged it as another means to black mail Ranma via his own guilt into doing something which would benefit her. No, it was because right as Ranma followed Ryoga out through the hole in the wall, someone had rung the doorbell.

Knowing that Kasumi was outside hanging up the laundry and that the two father's rarely if ever answered the door, Nabiki took it upon herself to see just who was desperate enough to willingly come to the Tendo house.

Opening the door she was unpleasantly surprised to find none other than Tatewaki Kuno. He hadn't noticed her opening the door, occupied in watching the rapidly disappearing blur of red and yellow that was about to be lost in the distance, followed by Akane. Nabiki took a moment to study Tatewaki, and notice all the changes he had undergone.

The first thing that she noticed where his clothes, they were no longer the regular kendoist practice uniform, instead he was wearing a rather fashionable ensemble of dark slacks, and a dark green button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to midway between his hands and elbows. On anyone else it would have looked presentable, but for some reason it didn't seem to fit Tatewaki. It didn't bring out the color in his eyes Nabiki finally decided.

She then looked past the new clothes and saw the small dark stain on the collar of the shirt, it almost appeared to be dried blood. Her eyes then swept up and took in the dark circles around his bloodshot eyes and his very disheveled hair.

"Hello Kuno-baby, if you came to play with Ranma and Akane then I'm afraid that they just stepped out." Nabiki broke the moment by slipping into her normal persona of all knowing and condescending business woman.

Tatewaki quickly turned from the quickly disappearing spectacle and his slight frown turned into an even small smile. "Actually Nabiki Tendo while Akane Tendo's presence would have been a pleasurable experience, I have come merely to engage you in conversation."

Nabiki's demeanor cracked only slightly. True he was speaking with a few of the normal mannerisms of Tatewaki, but the Tatewaki Nabiki had known would never have stopped by just to chat. Deciding that it would at least be interesting to see just where this new development led, Nabiki opened the door wider and stepped aside while saying, "Well then Kuno-baby, if you've got the money, then I have the time. Please come in and make yourself at home."

Tatewaki's smile never wavered as he strode by Nabiki and removed the leather shoes which had replaced his normal sandals and she closed the door behind him. Nabiki brushed past Tatewaki and skirting the disaster zone that had been the living room, led him through the dinning room and out onto the porch. Kasumi had just finished bringing in the laundry and as she breezed by them carrying the full basket said, "Oh Nabiki, I hadn't realized that you were planning on having company today. I'll go make tea for the two of you."

Nabiki started to correct her sister, that it was only Tatewaki and he didn't need tea, but before she had the chance Kasumi had already disappeared into the house. Nabiki sighed and turned back to Tatewaki who had stopped on the threshold separating the rest of the house from the porch. He was just standing there enjoying the all too temporary serenity of the backyard. It was really quite lovely when no one was trying to kill someone else and causing property damage.

Nabiki went back into the house and picked up two of the cushions from the dinning room and shortly thereafter the two teens were seated and silently contemplating the koi pond which rippled occasionally as the fish darted to the surface.

While Tatewaki seemed to be relaxed and meditatively enjoying the silence, it began to stretch into the unbearable for Nabiki. However just as she was about to break it by asking Tatewaki just what he had come over for, Kasumi reappeared bearing a tea service which she set between Nabiki and Tatewaki. Then with a smile unnoticed by Tatewaki but Nabiki took note of it and almost scowled in return. Her smile only increasing Kasumi retreaded back into the house to putter out of view of the two, but well within earshot.

Nabiki killed a little more time waiting for Tatewaki to begin talking by preparing a cup of tea for herself. She took a small sip, and finally became fed up with his inattention. "So Kuno-baby, its not every day that you just stop by for a cup of tea. What's the occasion? In the market for a few new pictures?"

Tatewaki shook himself slightly as if he had been on the verge of sleep and turning slightly to regard Nabiki replied, "To be honest, I had an excuse to come here, but I'm afraid that I've forgotten it. I suppose its because for some reason this is the only place I can relax." Then as if he had said the most natural thing in the world, he nonchalantly began preparing his own cup of tea.

Nabiki was taken aback, she had never seen Tatewaki like this before, he seemed frank, honest, open. As if he truly felt that he was in the safest place in the world. She hid her surprise behind her cup and after allowing herself a moment to compose her expression, she replied, "And here I was thinking that I was one of the major causes of stress in your life. Weren't you the one who said that you despised me?"

Tatewaki chuckled slightly, without humor. "That's true, but that was also a long time ago, it seems a lifetime." He replied.

"Yeah, at least two months since the last time." Nabiki said with her usual deadpan manner.

Tatewaki smiled, a cold smile which didn't reach his eyes Nabiki noticed. "For some two months is a lifetime. I will admit that at the time I did believe that I despised you. But as of late my entire life has... changed. My view of you is no exception. I no longer despise you, I understand you perfectly, and for that I am grateful. You are perhaps one of the few areas of my life that has not undergone a radical change as of late. So long as you are unabashedly self-serving and motivated entirely by fiscal gain, then at least some part of the world makes sense." He lapsed into silence and continued to drink his tea while enjoying the nice cross breeze that the large hole in the living room provided.

Nabiki was both outraged and flattered by Tatewaki's declaration. Flattered by how much he seemed to depend upon her, and outraged at how he viewed her. Although when she thought about it, the way Tatewaki seemed to picture her was fairly accurate based on how she had been treating him. Although just because it was justified didn't mean that he should have said it. Besides it wasn't like she always was motivated by money, the yen that she had taken from him the last time they had met was rolled up and shoved behind the drawer in her desk. She had been tempted to use it, but for some reason she always felt reluctant to spend it.

While Nabiki was trying to compose herself enough to retort back to Tatewaki, he suddenly continued. "For the past few weeks I've been ... tired, no not tired exactly, maybe frustrated would be a better word, but that's not it either. I just have felt so worn out. I thought that once I had taken control of my situation I would be able to find relief. But I'm afraid that by trying to fix things I've only managed to break them further. I think that I made the right choices, yet the outcomes are all wrong. I thought I was saving my sister and myself from my parent's fate, but she..." He sighed deeply and leaned against the nearby post. "She does whatever I say, exactly. She's like a robot and I'm forcing her to act according to my wishes. I want her to be happy and sane, I want her to quit obsessing over that damn Saotome, its unhealthy. But every time I try to get her to see, to understand, it only drives her farther away."

Nabiki was silent, she didn't have any advice to give Tatewaki right off the top of her head. In fact he was making her decidedly uncomfortable. There had never been anyone who had confided in her as deeply as Tatewaki was, and if he truly saw her as he had described her earlier, then what did that say about how desperate he was?

Tatewaki sighed deeply again and continued. "There is something that has been eating away at me lately, I've felt alone and empty. Every time I try to sleep I just lie awake for hours worrying about whether I am making the right choices or not, and if I'm only speeding along my sister's deterioration. Even when I do manage to sleep, I awaken even more tired than when I go to bed. And as of late I find that I'm unable to get my conversation with your father out of my mind. Truly what are my goals in life and how should I achieve them. I don't have the answer." He closed his eyes and lapsed into silence.

Nabiki wasn't sure what to think, and even less sure of what she should say. But she knew that she needed to say something, anything. "Well" she began, "the one thing about life is that there are seldom any right or wrong answers, just one choice being better than another. Life isn't a multiple choice question, its an opinion essay. So I guess before you can think of the goals you want, you first need to figure out what you think success is. Take me for instance I think a successful person is someone who always has the means to obtain what they want. That's why I'm planning on attending a university and getting a business degree so that I can become a highly paid CEO."

Nabiki glanced over at Tatewaki and found him unchanged, his eyes still closed and relaxed. She would have thought that he was asleep except for the fact that one of his fingers was lazily circling the rim of his teacup. Nabiki decided to continue, "And its not like you have to decide what you are going to do right now, I mean there is still a lot of time left and even if you decide that you've made the wrong choice, you can always go back and change it."

Tatewaki finally opened his eyes and softly whispered, "I wonder about that." Nabiki barely heard him over the distant birdsong and the occasional ripple from the pond. Before she had a chance to respond though, Tatewaki's expression changed from one of sadness to one of thoughtful determination, his mask had been put back on.

"Nabiki Tendo, let us talk of things more pleasant than my personal life. I have recently thought about purchasing the services of a well respected financial advisor who was recommended to me by several knowledgeable individuals." Truthfully he had searched through the phone book for the financial office with the most impressive name. "However due to the poor performance of the previous advisors to my family, I'm not entirely sure that I should allow them to operate with little or no personal oversight. However I have encountered a minor difficulty in that I have very limited knowledge in the field of finances. Seeing as how you are an expert, I was wondering what advice you would have for someone such as myself."

He then reached down and refilled his teacup, sipping at it while waiting for her response. Nabiki was initially surprised by the change in direction of the conversation, but if she was one thing, she was agile on her mental feet, and they had finally entered into a topic where she was quite knowledgeable.

"Well Kuno-baby, if I were you then I would think about what I want most from my investments." Nabiki started, beginning to feel the small surge of excitement she received whenever talking about money. "For instance if you want a secure investment then you should consider a diversified mutual fund, or the bond market. But if you want something high yield, then short selling stocks is lucrative but risky. Personally..." At this point Nabiki noticed the gazed look that was falling over Tatewaki. As usual there were few who truly appreciated the same interests as her.

Taking pity on Tatewaki Nabiki decided to try a different approach. "Listen Kuno-baby, the best way to lose your money is to not know how to manage it. Like you said you don't have much experience with money management and even if I did teach you everything I know, it would take a long time and would most likely be mind numbingly boring. Trust me, if you don't think working with financial numbers is interesting now, then its not likely it ever will be interesting for you."

Seeing Tatewaki's become crestfallen, Nabiki continued. "But you are right, without proper oversight you run the risk of being taken advantage of. Tell you what, for a small percentage based fee, I would be willing to act as your financial ... assistant, checking up on what exactly your investment managers are doing and making sure they have your best interests at heart. At the same time I would be willing to train you as much as you want so eventually you can look after your own affairs."

Tatewaki carefully set his tea cup down, not bothering to hide the suspicion from his face. "I have already considered the option of you assisting me in this matter. However even though you are the most knowledgeable person I know on these matters, I feel that my financial future is too important to leave in your hands. After all you are still in high school."

Nabiki knew that Tatewaki probably wouldn't warm up to the idea immediately, but his casual dismissal of her talents infuriated her. It was true that she was young, and in the eyes of the world inexperienced. But she knew that she was better than most people when it came to money, hell she was probably better than half the people who made their living off of money management. To have Tatewaki sit there and casually dismiss her out of hand firmed Nabiki's resolve. She had offered her services to be nice, but now that he had refused her, Nabiki promised herself that no matter what she would become Tatewaki's financial advisor, whether he liked it or not.

Gripping her own tea cup tight enough to cause her knuckles to whiten, Nabiki spoke through her clenched jaw. "Well then Kuno-baby, if you have such little faith in me, then how about this then. Don't give me control over your entire fortune, just a tiny piece like five percent. I promise you that in six months I'll have that five percent making more money than the rest of your investments combined. I'll even manage it for free. At the end of six months if I have managed to out perform the rest of your financial managers, then we'll set up a salary for me and a larger portion of your investments to manage. If I don't get it to perform well, then I'll give you as many pictures of my sister as you want for life."

Tatewaki looked surprised, and he turned away from Nabiki to regard the back yard once more. He sat there silently for a few minutes, quietly meditating, then softly he replied. "Your offer is generous, it almost seems as if I would be getting all the benefit from it. But I know that can not be the case because you would never enter into an agreement where you would not be able to gain something."

Nabiki smirked as she took another sip of tea, she hadn't heard a no in his speech, she had him, he just didn't know it yet. "Trust me Kuno-baby I would be getting a lot out of this deal. I didn't mention how much my salary will be once I prove myself, but I assure you it will be enough for even me. And you will know that I am worth every yen of it."

Tatewaki silently meditated a few minutes more before replying. "It seems as if my own risk would be minimal, and whether you win or lose, I would gain. However I have one request for the prize if you lose."

Nabiki's smirk blossomed into an outright smile as she replied, "If I lose Kuno-baby, If I lose."

Tatewaki cut his eyes towards Nabiki for a second before staring straight ahead again. "If you lose, I don't think that I would like pictures of your sister."

Nabiki was momentarily confused, but quickly caught on. "Oh well if you want pictures of the Red Haired Girl, then those might be more difficult to get, but I might be able to manage."

Tatewaki shook his head slightly. "No, I don not really want pictures of her either."

"Well if you keep acting half-way sane like you are now, then I might be able to convince Akane of going on a date with you but ..."

Tatewaki interrupted Nabiki's offer. "I don't want pictures, and I don't want dates. Not of them, not now. If you fail, then I want you to owe me a favor."

Nabiki looked over at Tatewaki in surprise. "What kind of favor?" She asked quirking her eyebrow.

"I'll tell you if you lose." Tatewaki replied, though when he turned and saw Nabiki's questioning eyes, he thought of the implications he had made and began to blush. "I assure you it will not be anything of an ... intimate nature. Strictly professional."

Nabiki knew that despite all his bluster Tatewaki was mostly innocent, but she did so enjoy teasing him. "Well if its going to be a strictly professional favor, then I know a few hotels not far from here which are discrete and charge by the hour ..."

"Nabiki! Please, I truly did not mean it in that way. Please let us drop this conversation." Tatewaki quickly interrupted, his face turning red. He quickly turned away from her and tried his best to ignore her while his embarrassment faded.

Laughing on the inside Nabiki let the conversation lapse while she refilled her tea cup and joined Tatewaki in the silent contemplation of the yard. It only lasted a few minutes however before the serenity was interrupted by the abrupt appearance of the Kuno family ninja.

"Master Kuno, you must come quickly!" Sasuke breathlessly announced after having blurred over the top of the wall surrounding the yard. "Mistress Kodachi has threated the staff that she will release Mr. Turtle upon them if they do not allow her to cook tonight's meal!"

Tatewaki regarded the ninja for a moment before he sighed. "Yes of course Sasuke, I'll come right away." So saying he stood up and stretched his cramped leg muscles before turning to Nabiki. "Thank you so much for your enjoyable company on this fine day. Please forward the bill to the Kuno mansion, or if you would like, we can settle it when you come over to help me with the money matters."

He then turned to leave. As he was passing through the doorway back into the house, he murmured, "So once again I have to leave this safe haven and return to the pit. So be it." Sasuke bowed to Nabiki then instead of following his master through the house, leapt onto the roof and to the front yard to await his master.

Nabiki quietly placed her cup back on the tray of the tea service. She was excited because she had such interesting work before her, figuring out the most lucrative manner in which to invest someone else's money, but at the same time she was thoughtful. Tatewaki seemed almost as a different person. Sure a few of his mannerisms were the same, but him not having any interest in her sister or the female version of Ranma seemed alien to Nabiki. He had also seemed subdued and contemplative. Adjectives that had seldom described Tatewaki ever before. It was too early to tell, but Nabiki hoped that this change would be a good one.

Deciding that she had better get to work, Nabiki reached down to pick up the tea service and return it to the kitchen, when she was surprised by the sudden appearance of her sister Kasumi who rapidly swept down and cleaned up the tea things.

"He seems like a very nice boy." Kasumi said as she lifted the tea service up.

Nabiki snorted, "Yeah, seems would be the right word. He is completely caught up in himself, the few times he looks beyond his own nose its to look at Akane or Ranma. And to top that, he is too oblivious to realize that male Ranma and female Ranma are the same person." She said while standing up and following Kasumi to the kitchen to pilfer a cookie.

"Well I don't think he is the only one who is oblivious around here." Kasumi said quietly as she began to clean the tea cups in the sink.

Nabiki looked at her sister for a moment to see if Kasumi was mocking her. But as usual, it was impossible for anyone to believe that Kasumi had any malicious intent for too long. So Nabiki shrugged off her sister's comment and taking one of the cookies lying out, proceeded upstairs to her room. She had a lot to do to prepare herself so that she could prove to Tatewaki that she was worthy of his respect. As she bent down to start her work, it never occurred to her to question why his respect was so important.

More to come.

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Author's Notes:

Thanks for all the reviews, hopefully I will live up to your expectations for this story. Although I will likely fail.

Honestly this was a difficult chapter to write and I'm not really satisfied with how it came out, but I need to move on. Right now I am conflicted in what the next chapter should contain, I'm not sure whether I should begin the ramping up towards the climax and finale of the story, or if I should do a chapter from Kodachi's perspective. I feel guilty due to the one dimensional manner I have depicted her in. However, I have already dragged you readers through several chapters of character development with no action whatsoever. Please let me know which way I should go.


	5. Promises to Keep

I don't own Ranma ½

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Normalcy is a bias which changes from person to person. Thanks to this Kodachi was able to claim that she had lived a perfectly normal life. True she had lost her parents at an early age, one to death and the other to Hawaii, but many other people had managed to overcome similar setbacks, and since such things were beyond her control she tried to never pay too much attention to the absences. This harsh view was likely due to the fact that Kodachi's memories of her mother where vague fuzzy things, more memories of feelings than of an actual person.

When Kodachi had been much younger and much more prone to emotional outburst she had on occasion, late at night, tried her hardest to remember her mother, her face, her voice, anything. However as the years passed and Kodachi grew harder she eventually stopped engaging in such pointless pursuits, in the end even her half remembered feelings for her mother drifted away.

Of course the memories she had of her father before he left were equally as hazy as those she had for her mother, but since he was still living, Kodachi was less willing to let him go. While she had let her mother drift into the abstract, Kodachi often spent hours imagining what her father was like. Because he was the father of not only her but Tatewaki as well he would have to be tall and handsome, strong and fearless, smart and perfect.

While Kodachi was growing up she held this image of the perfect father in her mind, and every accomplishment, every victory was dedicated to him, a reaffirmation that she was worthy of being his daughter. When she had first learned of her father's return, Kodachi had been quite anxious to meet him and have her beliefs validated.

Of course when she did finally meet her father Kodachi learned that he was a raving lunatic and someone to shun and avoid rather than make proud. Almost immediately she dismissed him out of hand as being her real father. She tolerated the man and even in someways liked the buffoon. She had even felt something close to sadness when he had died. But deep in her heart Kodachi knew that her real father was still alive somewhere in the world, and as long as she continued to do her best and win he would be proud of her.

Kodachi's formative years, bereft of her parents, had taught her some of the most important lessons that a person needs to learn in life. When she had been very young, she had first depended upon her brother to provide her the stability and support a child needs. But while Tatewaki sometimes tried to be a good brother and give Kodachi the love and attention she needed, he was only slightly older than she, and often the responsibility of another person was too much for him. He did love Kodachi, but Tatewaki's affection was too unpredictable and insufficient to sustain a young girl.

Tatewaki would spend whole days or weekends showering his sister with affection then go for weeks or months without hardly pausing to speak to her. So as much as Kodachi needed him, she had been forced to regard her brother not as a much needed and loved family member, but as a nice distant relative whose life only occasionally intersected her own.

Thus with her brother proving inadequate to help raiser her, Kodachi next unconsciously turned to the Kuno servants for the affection and attention that she needed. But even this last bastion failed her due to the high turnover of the Kuno staff. In the end Kodachi faced a cold reality which she eventually turned into a guideline for the rest of her life. Ultimately no matter how nice other people are, the only person that one could depend upon is oneself.

Therefore for the most part Kodachi was a product of her own creation. Whenever she took an interest in something, she was indulged but not encouraged. When she no longer found something interesting, no one noticed. And so Kodachi stumbled through her early years alone with only the spectre of an imagined ideal man to keep her company. Eventually she grew used to being alone, and then grew to depend upon it. Large gatherings of people quickly tired her out so she cultivated solitary pursuits which others where happy to leave her too.

Kodachi revived the Kuno family's greenhouse which had been left to go fallow several decades earlier, she began to practice a little known and eccentric martial arts style. Eventually she began to view her isolation not as a hated state which had been forced upon her by other people, but as a natural and preferred state of being for a person as superior as she was. In her mind the world had not ostracized her, she had ostracized the world.

In recent years, shortly before her father's death, Kodachi's adversarial mood had mellowed. At times she had even found herself depressed for no apparent reason, at other times she inexplicably wanted to be near someone who knew and understood her. For these reasons she had repaired the long distant relationship with her brother and spent whole hours in the same room as him. She tending to her bonsai collection, he practicing his kendo forms usually. Tatewaki had at first believed that the presence of his sister indicated that she wished to talk about something, but he had quickly learned that while she would tolerate his presence, she rarely enjoyed his conversation. So for health reasons whenever his sister silently entered his practice hall and began to tend to her potted plants he did his best to ignore her.

Following the death of their father Kodachi had noticed a change in Tatewaki. For years he had been innocently delusional in his strict following of the Bushido code, often doing his best to stay out of her way after having been on the receiving end of her wrath once too often. However as of late she had noticed a few disturbing changes in Tatewaki.

More and more often Tatewaki was acting less like his old self and more like some stranger that had taken his form. It had started soon after their father's death, he had placed restrictions both upon her actions and her finances. Shortly thereafter Kodachi noticed a change in Tatewaki's wardrobe. It was very seldom that he now wore his kendoist practice outfit, chiefly only when he was practicing kendo, which was strange for him. Instead the majority of the time Tatewaki wore what he had informed her was "business casual." At first the outfits did not suit him at all, either the cut being slightly wrong or the color being just a shade off.

In the past fortnight however Tatewaki's clothing had undergone another change, this one more subtle. They seemed to be made of finer material and tailored to fit him perfectly. Or perhaps the change was with Tatewaki himself, as if he had been tailored to fit the clothes. Gone was the mostly harmless brother who only entered Kodachi's life under duress and was quickly gone again after spouting some meaningless nonsense. The brother she had known as a scared coward who hid this behind a false exterior of insane bravado.

In his place was a confident stranger, suave where he had been annoying, confident instead of arrogant, determined instead of quixotic. All these and a thousand other minor changes Kodachi noticed and began to fear. Even her beloved home was beginning to transform, it was now open, warm, and inviting. Kodachi could hardly stand it. In a short amount of time without anyone consulting her, Kodachi's entire life was in danger of changing, shifting away from the safety of the known into the uncharted waters of something different.

The death of their father could perhaps account for a few of the changes in Tatewaki, and thus the changes in the rest of her life, but such an event could not be the cause for all of them. No, Kodachi knew the real catalyst of change, the driving engine behind Tatewaki's transformation, Nabiki Tendo. For the past month Kodachi had stumbled across the Tendo girl more and more frequently in the Kuno mansion.

Tatewaki had told Kodachi that the Tendo's presence was merely part of a business arrangement, but Kodachi knew better. In an effort to better understand the perfect man who was destined to be her husband, Ranma Saotome, she had investigated all those closest to him. Kodachi knew exactly how mercenary the Tendo was, and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that all the changes that she was forcing upon Tatewaki were part of some type of scheme to somehow part Tatewaki from his fortune.

When Kodachi had first found the Tendo girl in the Kuno household, she had been in the same room as Tatewaki, and was discussing some rather trivial and boring things with him. However Kodachi had noticed that as the weeks passed, the Tendo's presence occurred more and more often, and with each passing day the distance between the Tendo and her brother decreased. Faced with the alarming prospect of her brother becoming enamored of the Tendo and acting upon her merest whim, Kodachi resolved that she needed to take steps to insure that the interloping girl was removed so that Tatewaki and the Kuno household could return to its previous ways.

* * *

During the past month Tatewaki was only vaguely aware of any changes in his behavior. The differences noticed by Kodachi were of no importance to him. Really the only indicator of change that he noticed was that for the first time in a long time he was ... happy.

He wasn't sure why, maybe it was because he was finally over his depression, but the joy he felt far surpassed any happiness he could remember having experienced previously. Compared to what he was currently feeling, the emotions he had experienced during the school year, perhaps his whole life, were pale shadows. Whatever the cause or reason for his happiness, Tatewaki knew that he wanted it to last as long as possible.

The rest of the Kuno mansion reflected Tatewaki's happiness, for the first time in recent memory the Kuno's had been able to retain their staff for more than three weeks. They were quickly becoming around the estate was well as the local town. All it had required was for Tatewaki to slightly adjust the way in which he ran the household, removing the deadly booby traps and curtailing Sasuke's actions for a start.

Thanks to the new dedicated staff the Kuno estate returned to a semblance of its past glory. That particular day Tatewaki was enjoying the newly revitalized study that once belonged to his grandfather. Thanks not only to the new cleaning staff, but to the team of contractors Nabiki had convinced him to invest in, the study, as well as most of the rest of the house, had been modernized in a subtle manner.

While the walls were still occupied from floor to ceiling with old and heavy books of knowledge, instead of being buried under years of dust, they were clean and ready to be opened at a moment notice. Their well worn covers softly reflected the sunlight that now flooded the room. Tatewaki had felt that the original window in the wall behind the desk had been inadequate, so he had the entire wall replaced with doors opening out to a newly made porch which was the segue to the new koi pond that Nabiki had felt would be a nice addition to the garden outside the office.

Tatewaki lounged in the chair behind his desk, he had not only turned the desk around so that he could enjoy the scene outside as well as the occasional breeze that wafted through the open doors, but he had replaced the chair to the desk as well. Gone was his grandfather's heavy and imposing leather chair, in its place Tatewaki had chosen a much more moderate rolling chair made mostly of oak, with leather protecting the seat and the arm rests. The contractors had found it while running new wires through the attic, near several old boxes of what appeared to be the briefs and other legal documents from when Tatewaki's grandfather had been a law student.

Tatewaki truly enjoyed the new appearance of the study, it was both simpler and more usable he felt. The only part of the new look that he did not particularly like was sitting on top of the solid desk, humming away quietly.

Nabiki had been quite adamant in convincing Tatewaki that the best method of keeping track of finances was a computer. So after the contractors had run new wiring for the telephone and electricity to offer more outlets, Tatewaki had purchased the computer that Nabiki had recommended. It now sat in front of him, quietly taunting him.

The thing was ugly and ... beige. It was much too large and took up too much of the desk space in Tatewaki's opinion. Added to its list of defects was the fact that Tatewaki did not know the first thing about using a computer. He knew that somehow one used the keyboard and the thing, the ... mouse, to input things into the computer and then the computer would display them on the small screen attached to it. But it seemed a rather temperamental beast, shortly after Tatewaki had purchased the computer, Nabiki had tried to teach him a few of the features and commands for it. However whatever Tatewaki had entered into the computer had caused it to act quite strangely and Nabiki had spent the next few hours trying to undo whatever he had done.

Despite Tatewaki's aversion to the new computer and his belief that if he looked at it improperly it would somehow take offense, he thoroughly enjoyed the study and had begun to spend several hours in it every day. Some of them were spent in silent contemplation of the koi pond, this one stocked with actual koi and not man eating reptiles, others quietly perusing the books the past generations of Kunos had left behind.

While Nabiki's success in educating him in the ways of finance were minimal at best, Tatewaki had found that the law books were very interesting. Each case was like a little story, and he would often find himself spending whole hours in trying to figure out the reason behind why a particular law was passed. Trying to decipher the possible scenario that had happened to cause people to see a need for such a law. It was vastly entertaining, almost as much as kendo had been.

Of course the part of the day that was quickly becoming Tatewaki's favorite was when Nabiki would stop by. Somehow the occurrence had turned into something rare and unexpected into an almost daily occurrence which brought a welcome reprieve. A reprieve from what Tatewaki wasn't entirely sure, but he just knew that for some reason he never was as happy without Nabiki as he was with her.

Tatewaki was meditating on this while enjoying the peace and tranquility of the scene outside his office, when he heard the soft tread of his new butler approaching the door. Tatewaki had been surprised to learn that his butler's name actually was Sebastian, since he had long thought that was merely a mythical stereotype perpetuated by the entertainment industry. To actually have a butler which proved the stereotype was amusing.

Alongside the steps of Sebastian, Tatewaki recognized the now familiar tread of Nabiki. A few weeks ago Tatewaki had left a standing order that whenever Nabiki arrived, she should be immediately escorted to him, or to wherever on the estate she so desired. After all she had been the one who had overseen the contractors and their renovation of the Kuno estate the most closely. It had happened more than once that Tatewaki was wandering the halls, cataloging the changes in his home, and had come across Nabiki bent over a blueprint, explaining exactly what was wanted to the general contractor who led the others.

Tatewaki quietly smiled while reflecting on how unalike he and Nabiki were. While he was usually more than willing to pay whatever someone asked and leave the details of the project up to them, she wanted to make sure that every yen was spent well, and that she received exactly what she wanted, not what someone else thought she needed.

Tatewaki was interrupted from his thoughts by a soft knocking on his study's door, followed quickly by it opening and Sebastian leaning in. "Miss Tendo to see you sir." He said in his most detached butler tone of voice, though Tatewaki thought that he could detect a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.

Vacating his chair and standing up, Tatewaki smoothed out the wrinkles in his shirt as he replied, "Very good Sebastian, please show her in."

The butler opened the door wider and moving to one side indicated for the girl behind him to enter. Tatewaki was unaware of the large smile that came to his face, but Nabiki was fully aware of it as she stepped into the room.

Remembering himself for a moment, Tatewaki turned towards Sebastian again, "If you would be so kind, please bring some refreshments for Ms. Tendo and myself." Sebastian nodded and then quietly closed the door, leaving Nabiki and Tatewaki alone.

Tatewaki turned back towards the desk and found Nabiki had already usurped his seat and was in the process of removing some books and reams of paper from a bag that she had brought with her.

Taking a seat on one of the vacant love seats that had been rearranged near the desk, Tatewaki stole a moment to quietly regard Nabiki as she went about working, first working on the computer, then opening one of her ledgers to look something up, then back to the computer. Soon she was completely involved in her work, and Tatewaki's considering gaze went unnoticed.

Once she became totally engrossed in something, and allowed her usual mask of indifference to drop, Nabiki was quite beautiful, Tatewaki reflected to himself as he leaned over and rested his arm upon the side of the love seat and his head upon his fist in order to better appreciate the view. His reflection and her concentration were interrupted a few moments later when there was a soft knock on the door, followed immediately thereafter by Sebastian opening it and appearing with a western tea service.

"Your tea is ready sir." Sebastian said while holding the seemingly weighty silver service rock steady in his gloved hands.

"Yes, yes, very good. Please set it down on that table over there and that will be all thank you." Tatewaki said while straightening himself and waving his hand at a low table situated between the desk and the open patio door.

Sebastian carefully set the platter down on the table and then with a small bow in Tatewaki's direction, he made his way out of the room and shut the door, all without making even the slightest of sounds.

"Well then shall we take a break and have some tea?" Tatewaki asked Nabiki as he stood up.

Nabiki turned around in her chair and looked up to regard Tatewaki. She cocked an eyebrow, "Take a break? We haven't even started yet. Don't you think perhaps we should start working before we stop working?"

Tatewaki blushed lightly at her reprimand, but truthfully trying to understand the mystic and arcane methods of accountancy sounded unpalatable at that point in time. "Ah but Nabiki you've already worked so hard today, that I feel fatigued just watching you. Please humor me, if not as your friend, then as your employer."

Tatewaki smiled as he walked past the desk towards the tea set, while Nabiki watched him with a small slightly confused frown. Lately Tatewaki had slipped into the habit of calling her by her first name only, also he had begun to convince her more and more to slack off, until for the past few days it had seemed as if they had spent more time just sitting in each other's company talking about whatever topic piqued their interest, than they did trying to untangle the Kuno finances. The most troubling part of these developments however was that they were not that unwelcome to Nabiki. Tatewaki was quickly becoming one of the few people that Nabiki felt she could be comfortable around, and she wasn't sure how to react to that.

While Nabiki continued to frown slightly at his back, Tatewaki went ahead and poured two cups of tea, preparing them just the way that Nabiki liked. Before Nabiki's frequent visits Tatewaki had for the most part only partaken of eastern teas, but Nabiki had convinced him that a little variety was good and had quickly introduced him to a wide variety of other teas available. Darjeeling happened to be a particular favorite of Nabiki, and Tatewaki had grown to enjoy it almost as much as she did.

Carefully picking up the two cups by their saucers, Tatewaki turned towards Nabiki who was still seated at the desk. However with an apparent change of heart Nabiki smiled and bounced out of the chair. "Well since we aren't going to be working right now anyway, lets enjoy the outdoor scenery, its a beautiful day out today." She said as she breezed by Tatewaki.

Tatewaki was surprised by Nabiki's sudden movements, and as she passed by him, he jumped slightly, almost losing control of the tea cups. However with a few deft maneuvers he was able to bring the tea back under control and he slowly turned and made his way out to the veranda where he found Nabiki already lounging in one of the comfortable chairs situated to take full advantage of the tranquil koi pond.

Tatewaki set the tea down on the small table that separated Nabiki's chair from another. He then sat down in the unoccupied chair and as he leaned back he reached over to take the cup that was left unclaimed after Nabiki had made her choice while he was distracted.

For a moment the two let the sounds of the day drift over them as they sampled their tea, the breeze as it sighed through the trees lining the perimeter of the garden, the occasional ripple from the pond as a koi surfaced in the hopes of finding food, and in the distance the sound of the occasional motor as a car passed by in the distance.

After taking a small sip Tatewaki glanced at his reflection in the tea cup, and gathering his courage, he began. "Nabiki," he said, "I don't really think that you trying to teach me the finer points of finance is really working out. I fear that I simply lack the aptitude to fully appreciate what you are trying to teach. Perhaps we should face the futility of the exercise and give up and move on."

Nabiki allowed herself a few moments to collect her thoughts by taking in the calming scenery before replying. "To be completely honest, I have noticed that you lack the necessary attitude to fully understand finance. You simply don't value money the way it should be. Probably due to the fact that you never really had to work for any of your money growing up."

Tatewaki sharply looked toward Nabiki, but she continued. "Of course not everyone can have the genius and true appreciation when it comes to money that I have, which is a good thing since it means that it's easier for me to take advantage of them." Nabiki laughed at her own joke while Tatewaki rolled his eyes.

Rapidly though Nabiki became serious again. "So if we are giving up on me trying to enlighten you in the ways of the real world, then where would we move on to?" She asked before bringing her cup up to taste the tea again. Tatewaki really knew just the proper way to prepare it she mused.

"Well just because we're not going to try and pack my head with useless information doesn't mean we have to stop seeing one another. I mean we are friends now after all, and that's what friends do right, sit around and enjoy each other's company?" Tatewaki said with a slight wave of his hand.

Nabiki glanced over at him, taking a slight offense to the way he had described her passion, then she pondered the rest of his statement and to her surprise, found it to be true.

Somehow, someway she and Tatewaki had become friends. She had actually come to enjoy the time they spent together. Thinking back upon how their relationship had been a year ago, even a few months ago, Nabiki was shocked at the differences. The changes had happened so gradually that it was difficult even now to pinpoint them specifically. Probably the biggest and most obvious of course was that Tatewaki had begun to act like a sane, rational person. Mostly.

Turning back to watch the tree branches wave in the breeze Nabiki replied, "Well I suppose I could be persuaded to sacrifice my valuable time if I were suitably compensated. Because you are a friend, I suppose I could offer a discount of accepting a few extra manga volumes added to literary collection." She then set down her tea cup and leaned against the back of the chair and closed her eyes while crossing her legs, the very image of peaceful relaxation.

Tatewaki smiled slightly at Nabiki. "With such a bargain before me, what could I possibly do but accept your terms?"

Nabiki smirked without opening her eyes, "I knew that you would see things my way."

Tatewaki chuckled lightly, then became somewhat thoughtful. A silence passed between the two that lasted for a few minutes, a silence abruptly broken by Tatewaki. "Do you believe in destiny? That who we are and what we do is determined long before we are born, or do you think that everything is random and left to chance?"

Nabiki cracked open one of her eyes and glanced over at Tatewaki, clearly puzzled by the strange question.

Realizing her confusion Tatewaki tried to make himself clear. "I mean I think about who I was, as well as who I am. Then I can't help but wonder about who I will become. I don't like who I was, and I fear that I will waste my future as I have wasted my past. And then I wonder if I do change, what will I change into? Deep down I want to believe that I will become a good person, but I'm not sure that I can."

Nabiki opened both eyes and sat up straighter. This was no mere meaningless hypothetical question, but a wish to be reassured that nightmares are really only things of fantasy.

Nabiki's attention went unnoticed by Tatewaki, he was staring at something in the distance, or perhaps nothing. He held this teacup in his fingertips by the rim, absently twisting it one way then the other.

Feeling the need to reassure Tatewaki, but lacking any time to fully put her thoughts in order, Nabiki replied, "Well I think that it's a bit of both don't you?"

Tatewaki turned his head and his eyes full of hope and wariness focused on Nabiki.

"What I mean is that who we are is in many ways usually determined by who we were when we were children, when we were at our most impressionable. And who we were I think is largely dependent upon who our family and friends were."

Seeing Tatewaki's gaze turn questioning Nabiki tried to clarify her point. "For example, say two school teachers who loved to teach have a child, don't you think that the child in turn will probably become a teacher as well? After all children love their parents and look up to them on how to behave and how to live life. So I guess that we are somewhat destined to be the people who our parents modeled."

At this point Tatewaki turned from Nabiki and a frown darkened his features. After all according to Nabiki's reasoning he was destined to become a suicidal lunatic.

Nabiki could tell just how much Tatewaki was absorbing what she was saying, based upon how extreme his reaction was. So she pressed on. "But while most of us do have a sort of destiny, I think that if we try hard enough we can break free from it and become whomever we want."

Once again Nabiki had Tatewaki's undivided attention. She held his gaze as she continued. "I think that if you try hard to become a better person, if you forget what is in the past, and move on, you will become a good man."

She watched as hope and gratitude wared for dominance on Tatewaki's face. "Of course you probably won't be a great man," she continued with a slight smile, "but possibly a decent one."

Tatewaki warmly smiled as he replied, "At this point I think that I'll settle for being a sane one."

His smile grew larger as he set his cold teacup down on its saucer and quickly stood up. "I've been siting around all day. Lets go for a walk around the grounds, I hear that they're wonderful this time of year." So saying he reached down and offered his hand to Nabiki.

She rolled her eyes before taking his hand and allowing him to help her stand up as she replied, "Just so long as we stay well clear of the parts containing booby traps, man eating reptiles, or flesh dissolving plants."

Tatewaki frowned in mock contemplation. "Well I'm afraid that rules out the vast majority of the grounds, but I believe that there are a few picturesque portions of the driveway that should be relatively harmless enough to fit your tastes."

Nabiki smiled and replied, "Well then lead on McDuff."

"I'd be careful with the Shakespeare if I were you. If you go around quoting too much of it, people might begin to think that you're strange."

The both smiled as they fell into step beside each other, following a small gravel path that curved around the Koi pond and made a very circuitous route around the house.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the warm sun, the cool breeze, and each other's company before Tatewaki again broke the moment of meditation as they passed by a large tree. "So, you mentioned earlier that in order for me to continue to bask in your presence I needed to tempt you with a few volumes of manga. Might I ask which ones you had in mind?"

Nabiki looked away from Tatewaki and pretended to be interested in two butterflies playing in the distance as she replied, "I'm afraid that if I simply told you, you'd probably get the wrong ones. So I think that we shall have to go together to buy them."

Tatewaki was on the verge of replying when their solitude was intruded upon by Kodachi's voice. "Perhaps if you were to make a list we could have one of the servants retrieve them for you. After all that would be better than forcing 'Lord' Kuno to do something so below his station." She said as she silently appeared from the other side of the large tree.

Nabiki and Tatewaki both jumped slightly, Tatewaki recovering slightly faster than Nabiki. "Dearest sister, " he said, "I didn't know that you were outside, if I had then I would have invited you to take tea with us."

Kodachi regarded the two through half-lidded eyes as she replied, "There are a great many things about me that you fail to notice dear brother. However I'm sure the fault is not entirely your own." She focused her attention on Nabiki and narrowed her eyes further.

Nabiki somewhat frightened by the open hostility in Kodachi's eyes, and remembering what had happened when Kodachi had learned of her temporary engagement to Ranma, decided that discretion was the better part of valor.

"I think maybe that I should go." Nabiki stated. "I forgot that there were some things at home that I needed to do today."

Tatewaki turned to look at her. "Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes I'm afraid I must be leaving now." So saying she turned and began to retrace the path back to the study where she had left her belongings.

Tatewaki began to follow her, but was halted by his sister. "Dearest brother, I think perhaps you've been spending far too much time with Ms. Tendo."

The turned back to face Kodachi. "Whom I associate with is none of your concern."

Kodachi coldly replied, "Oh but it is, dear brother. You are the self proclaimed head of the Kuno clan. If someone of a lower class has tempted you, ensnared you, for their own gain, then it is my business to ... remove the snare."

Tatewaki coolly regarded his sister. "I've not been so fortunate in life as you, to be able to pick and choose who my friends are. Nabiki is someone special to me, so leave her alone. Understand?"

Taking her silence for agreement, Tatewaki turned to hurry after Nabiki. Kodachi watched him go with a frown on her face and her hands gripped into fists so tight that blood was seeping from the holes in her palm her fingernails had dug.

"Dear brother, I do believe that I shall be forced to save you from yourself. Of course if in doing so happens to pain you, then I'm afraid you will have to be hurt." She whispered to herself as she watched Tatewaki disappear behind the house. She then began to smirk, and soon broke out in mirthless, merciless laughter.

More to come.

* * *

Author's Note:

Thanks for all the reviews. Sadly there will only be one more chapter after this, but then depending upon how much you will want to kill me after the next chapter, there will be a sequel. Of course if I do alienate all of the people who read this story, I will be sad to see you go, all ten of you.

On a completely unrelated note, when exactly did Ms. replace Miss? In the past I used Miss, but over the years I have been corrected so much that I now naturally use Ms. Oh well, perhaps I'll just try to work on putting it back into use.


	6. Wake

I don't own Ranma ½

* * *

It had been a week since the garden fiasco, as Tatewaki had come to call it, and during that time Tatewaki had seen neither hide nor hair of Nabiki. He could understand her reluctance to come back to his house since being Kodachi's brother he was well acquainted with how terrifying she could be. He could even understand the fact that she had stopped calling him; after all they had decided that there was little to be gained by trying to instruct him in how to best manage his money.

But it had been a whole week without any contact with Nabiki at all. A few months ago Tatewaki would have found such a circumstance a welcome thing, but now ... now he found himself missing her. The way she would naturally take charge of any situation, the inexplicable ability to make anything seem simple and easy, the profile of her face as she brushed errant strands of hair behind her ear...

"Perhaps I should discontinue that train of thought." Tatewaki mused out loud to himself. It had been his experience that somehow women were capable of detecting sexual thoughts about them, and shortly thereafter inflicted large amounts of pain to the offending party. And furthermore, when exactly had he started to think that Nabiki Tendo was in anyway ... sexy?

Deciding that this perhaps was a topic best perused at a later time, Tatewaki continued on his way down the street. Earlier in the morning he had come to a decision, if Nabiki refused to come to him, then he would go to her. So he had spent much of the morning trying to decide which of his outfits would suit him the best, and which type of flowers Nabiki would like. After all she deserved some sort of thank you for trying to work with him.

So after stopping by a local florist he had proceeded to make his way toward the Tendo Dojo, and was quickly approaching its gate. He mentally prepared himself for any number of random martial artists leaping from behind the bushes or through a wall; however he reached the entrance without anything untoward happening.

Suddenly an inexplicable nervousness arose within him, he briefly considered just turning around and going home, maybe trying to meet Nabiki the next day, or the day after that or perhaps it would be best to just wait until she had contacted him.

But he quickly banished his uncharacteristically pessimistic thoughts and before he could try and dissuade himself again he leaned forward and rung the bell.

Almost immediately the door was opened by Kasumi, almost as if she had been waiting behind it. She was wearing her usual conservative dress covered by a cute apron, as well as her usual smile. Although something seemed a bit off about her grin, it was subtly more cunning than usual, almost as if she had an amusing secret and didn't want to tell anyone.

"Oh hello Tatewaki." She said, taking in his appearance with a glance, neatly dressed, well groomed, and a bouquet of flowers in his hand. "Are you here for Akane? I'm afraid she is entertaining a few friends at the moment. But I can let her know that you were here if you'd like."

Suddenly Tatewaki was nervous again, it almost seemed as if kind, gentle Kasumi was able to see beyond his surface and was watching all of his thoughts and emotions, even the ones that Tatewaki didn't know he had. Somehow the way she had told him that Akane was engaged seemed as if she knew that he wasn't really there for her, but was playing some kind of mind game with him.

Of course such suspicions were downright idiotic when it came to such a person as Kasumi. She could never have anything even remotely approaching an ulterior motive.

So banishing his nervous paranoia Tatewaki replied, "Actually I was hoping to speak with Nabiki if she is available."

Kasumi's smile widened slightly as if he had gotten the answer right. To what question, Tatewaki had no clue.

"Nabiki hasn't been feeling well recently, so she's been keeping to her room. But I'm sure that a visit from a friend is exactly what she needs to make her feel better. Please come in." Said Kasumi as she moved aside to allow Tatewaki space to enter.

After quickly depositing his shoes next to several more feminine pairs in the entryway Tatewaki followed Kasumi through the house and up the stairs, stopping in front of a door with a duck shaped plaque bearing the name "Nabiki."

Tatewaki seemed slightly apprehensive as muffled feminine laughter echoed from further down the hall, but Kasumi gave him a reassuring smile as she leaned in and knocked on the door. "Nabiki, you have a visitor." So saying she stepped back, leaving Tatewaki alone in front of the door.

He could hear muffled rustling as someone moved around in the room, and Nabiki's muffled voice came through the door, "I thought I told you that I didn't feel like seeing anyone today Kas…" She suddenly trailed off because at that point she opened the door and found Tatewaki standing on the other side with a bouquet of flowers.

Nabiki for her part was still dressed in her nightgown and her hair was in disarray. She stood with the door partially open, staring at Tatewaki, for a few seconds until her brain finally processed the image before her. With her face bright red, she eeped, and quickly shut the door in Tatewaki's face.

From behind the closed door a cacophony suddenly burst into life and Tatewaki wondered if he should perhaps beat a hasty retreat. However, turning his head, he saw that Kasumi had taken up a strategic location in the middle of the hallway, thus preventing him from escaping.

After only a few seconds the sounds coming from Nabiki's room suddenly died out and a few seconds after that the door suddenly and violently opened, revealing a slender arm which reached out and grabbed Tatewaki by his jacket, pulled him into the room, and just as suddenly and violently closed the door.

Tatewaki was now face to face with a still slightly blushing Nabiki, who seemed to be well on her way from embarrassment to anger. Hoping to defuse the situation Tatewaki awkwardly thrust out the bouquet of flowers which he still clutched in front of him.

"These are for you." He quickly said. "They're a uh … thank you for the hard work you've done so far."

Nabiki looked down at the flowers for a second, her anger turning to confusion, then back up at Tatewaki's face. "Thank you, but what made you choose this particular kind?"

Tatewaki looked down at the flowers; nothing seemed to be wrong with them. "Well I wanted to get your favorite kind of flowers but once I was actually at the florist's, I realized I didn't know what that was. So I just got the most expensive ones I could find."

Nabiki regarded the flowers in her hand once more, they were Casablanca Lilies, and quite beautiful. However they also represented love at first sight. For a moment she had thought that Tatewaki had chosen this particular species fully knowing its hidden message, but she quickly banished those ideas, he was no where sophisticated enough to actually put any forethought into the choosing of flowers.

"Well I'd better go get these in water before they start to wilt." Nabiki said, hoping to give herself a few more minutes in order to fully adopt her non-caring mercenary persona that she had finally decided would be the best way to handle Tatewaki, and the … whatever it was building up between them.

She breezed by him and opened the door, but before she was able to enter the hallway she was confronted by a pretty vase partially filled with water being held by her older sister.

Nabiki was momentarily startled, but seeing the grin on her sister's face, her eyes narrowed. "Why Kasumi, it was so _thoughtful_ of you to go ahead find a vase for me. But I'm sure that you have far more important things to be doing _elsewhere_."

Kasumi's grin remained unchanged as she replied, "Actually, all the housework is finished for right now, and besides what work is more important than making sure my sister is happy?"

Nabiki continued to eye Kasumi suspiciously for a few more moments before reaching out and snatching the vase from her hands. She then turned around and walked back into her room, closing the door with a bit more force than usual. Nabiki didn't like it when other people tried to interfere with her life, even in small ways, even if they thought that they were trying to improve it, and especially even if they were related to her.

As she unwrapped the flowers from the paper wrapper that was holding the bouquet together, she noticed as Tatewaki stepped further into her room and seemed to take in every detail. Nabiki put the flowers in the vase and then after setting it on her dresser, she proceeded to absorb herself in arranging them both to try and put them in an aesthetically pleasing position as possible, and so she could ignore the intruder in her room for a few seconds.

Tatewaki for his part was examining the room of Nabiki Tendo. He had developed a vague idea of what he had thought it would have been like, a cross between an executive's office and a Spartan bedroom. A room with little furnishing, likely dominated by a very large desk with a row of clocks upon the wall, each showing the time in major cities, as well as when different stock markets around the world opened and closed, with a small yet functional bed somehow squeezed into the corner.

Instead he found a relatively normal teenage girl's room, there was a desk, but it was normal sized and situated underneath a window allowing the early afternoon light to spill across the spread papers and various photos of friends and family. The bed was trimmed in pink and there were a few small stuffed animals propped against the pillows.

Perhaps the only thing that even hinted at the owner to the room being Nabiki was the very expensive camera equipment positioned near the door to the closet. Of the camera itself, there was no sign.

After a few moments fusing with the arrangement of the flowers Nabiki turned back around to regard Tatewaki, and he could almost swear that there was a light flush on her face. An awkward silence engulfed them for a few moments longer before Nabiki decided to ask, "So what exactly was it that brought you here today?"

"Well to be honest, I missed you." As soon as he said it, Tatewaki realized just how that statement sounded, so he turned his head slightly and pretended to cough while he tried to think up a reasonable means of verbal retreat. "That is, without you coming over for the past week, the house just feels empty." Realizing that the new statement didn't really sound any better Tatewaki decided to just move on and hope that Nabiki didn't read too deeply into what he had said. "So I decided to come and visit you to see if you were doing well, and also to see if perhaps you would be interested in continuing our discussion regarding the future."

Judging by the slight smirk that Nabiki sported, the ghost of the earlier flush completely absent, Tatewaki had little hope that Nabiki had missed what he had inadvertently admitted to.

"I'd be more than happy to continue our talk of other things besides an accountant you could be, a CFO or CEO for example, but …" Nabiki began to reply, only to be cut off by a burst of high pitched laughter coming through the wall from the next room. "But with Akane and her friends here, I don't think we'll get much peach and quiet." Nabiki continued. "Plus who knows when a random martial artist will come through the wall."

Both teens paused expectantly, but after a few seconds uninterrupted by wonton destruction of private property Tatewaki responded, "Perhaps you are right, it would be advantageous to hold our conversation in an area less … potentially chaotic."

Nabiki smiled as she grabbed Tatewaki by the arm and ushered him to the door while she said, "Of course I'm right, there's no maybe about it. Now be a good boy and wait downstairs while I get changed." She threw open the door and pushed Tatewaki out into the hallway, where he was once again face to face with the eldest Miss Tendo.

Kasumi, who looked slightly stunned at his abrupt appearance, quickly turned from Tatewaki to Nabiki. "Oh Nabiki, I was just … coming to see if you and your guest would like some tea. Akane and her friends are using the tea set right now, but I'm sure they would be willing to spare…"

Nabiki abruptly interrupted, "That's okay Kasumi, as soon as I change clothes Tatewaki and I are going out on a date, so we don't have time for tea." So saying, she closed her door leaving the stunned Kasumi and shell shocked Tatewaki alone in the hallway.

Kasumi turned back to Tatewaki. "Oh my." She said, and then bowed politely before quickly retreating down the hallway.

The dazed Tatewaki stood still for a few moments, the word "date" buzzing through his head. However another burst of muffled feminine laughter echoing down the hall broke him from his reverie. He shook himself slightly, and then followed the direction Kasumi had taken and stumbled down the stairs.

Not entirely sure what he was supposed to do with himself, Tatewaki gravitated to the parlor where he found Mr. Tendo absorbed in reading the day's paper. Not sure whether to interrupt him and greet him, Tatewaki decided to stay on the far side of the room, close to the door and escape if necessary. Several minutes passed without either man acknowledging the other's existence, the silence only broken by the rustle of Soun's newspaper and the occasional muted and unintelligible voice coming from the floor above.

Without any preamble Soun looked over the top of his paper and said, "I once imprisoned my master under a rock for a couple of decades, and he never even touched one of my daughters. Imagine what I will do to you if you hurt her." Just as suddenly as he had started, Soun stopped and went back to reading his paper as if nothing had happened.

Tatewaki was racking his mind trying to formulate a suitable response, when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs, moments later Nabiki arrived. She paused momentarily to call out, "Bye daddy, I'll probably be gone for a while so tell Kasumi that I probably won't be back for dinner." She then grabbed Tatewaki by the arm and dragged him out of the house.

After they had lost sight of the house, Nabiki released Tatewaki and slowed down to a more sedate pace.

"Date?" Was about the most intelligent conversation Tatewaki could come up with.

Nabiki glanced at him from the corner of her eye, "Don't worry too much about the terminology, I mostly said it to mess with Kasumi. I was thinking that we could go out and maybe visit a café, one preferably with a lot of chocolate, and then maybe we could go see a movie or something, then a nice dinner. Nothing at all like a date really."

Tatewaki breathed a sigh of relief and most of the tension left his body as he replied, "That's good, I am not entirely sure if I am ready for a date just yet." Nabiki turned her head away slightly and rolled her eyes.

As they continued to stroll down the street, Tatewaki noticed that it was becoming more and more crowded as they approached the local transit station.

"Where are we going exactly?" He asked after a few more seconds of silence.

"I know a great little café a few stops away from here."

"Well away from any prying eyes I take it." Tatewaki said with a bit of a resigned expression. After all he knew that Nabiki would probably be hesitant in admitting that she now regarded him as a friend rather than a client. Some people would likely view such a relationship as a kind of weakness.

"More like well away from any possibilities of interruption." Nabiki replied while turning to favor Tatewaki with a strange sort of smile. He didn't really have a label to give her expression, but for some reason it made Tatewaki feel both nervous and … happy."

They continued on in silence until they reached the station where Nabiki used her train pass while Tatewaki had to actually buy a ticket since he utilized public transportation infrequently at best.

Unlike the station earlier, the train was not too horribly crowded, but it was populated enough to make private conversation impossible. After a relatively short ride the two debarked and found themselves in a much trendier and more crowded area of Tokyo.

Amidst the press of pedestrians streaming in and out of the station, Nabiki leaned closer to Tatewaki and pointing into the distance said, "It's just down that street a few blocks, follow me." She then began to lead the way, but had only made it a few steps before the press of the jostling crowd forced her to come to a halt.

Tatewaki, seeing Nabiki's plight, instinctively grasped her hand so he wouldn't lose her, then began to force his way through the crowd. Thanks to his larger stature, noble demeanor, and martial arts enhanced physique, his progress through the crowed was much easier than Nabiki's had been, and the few people who took offense to being pushed out of the way thought it more prudent to get out of the way rather than risk his ire.

After several minutes of steady progress through the crowd, Tatewaki felt a tug on the hand that he had forgotten was holding Nabiki's. Turning around he found Nabiki pointing toward a glass door framed by windows full of promised confectionary delight. "This is it." She said, almost shouting over the din of other people, before reversing positions and pulling him toward the door.

Tatewaki noticed for the first time the feel of her hand in his now that he wasn't concentrating on creating a path through a sea of people. Her hand was small, soft, and warm. He would even go so far as to call it delicate. He suddenly began to worry about if he had hurt her while pulling her along behind him. He had always thought of Nabiki as being one of the strongest people he knew, but hers was the strength of knowledge and information. Compared to his rough and brutish hand, hers seemed as delicate and fragile as a newborn kitten. The sudden desire to protect Nabiki from harm suddenly washed over Tatewaki.

Nabiki meanwhile, unaware of the things going on in Tatewaki's head, lead them through the door and quickly secured them a table. After apprising them of the day's specials, the busty waitress who had seated them withdrew to give them time to peruse the menu.

Tatewaki abruptly returned to his senses after they sat on opposite sides of the table. After all a person such as Nabiki would likely never need his type of assistance, and probably would be insulted if he ever offered it. So with a final covert glance at the girl across the small table from him, Tatewaki turned his attention to the menu.

Quickly deciding that he wasn't all that hungry, Tatewaki settled upon an iced coffee. With his decision made he set down his menu and turned his attention to the rest of the small and busy café. It seemed to be fairly standard, a long glass enclosed counter filled with pastries and other baked goods dominating the space, behind which the staff prepared orders. The seating area was shaped like an L around the perimeter of the counter. Curiously all the tables seemed to be only large enough to seat two people.

Losing interest in the rest of the café, Tatewaki began to study Nabiki as she in turn continued to study the menu. He took note of the way that her hair framed her face, the ends threatening to brush her shoulders, but never quite making it. He idly wondered what she would look like with longer hair. Not that he had anything against her shorter style; it was just that he usually pictured his future bride with long cascading hair. Wait…

"Like what you see?" Nabiki interrupted before Tatewaki could fully process his thoughts. Without removing her eyes from the menu she continued, "If you'd like, I'm sure I could find someone to take a picture, I hear you are an avid photo collector."

Tatewaki quickly regained his composure. "Would you give me a discount for buying in bulk? I seem to have outgrown my previous collection."

"Well it might take some time to collect the right models; some of them are more willing than others."

Tatewaki smiled softly in painful remembrance of just how unwilling Akane and the pig tailed girl had been toward his advances. "Actually the present subject would be more than enough for me. I could study her for hours."

Nabiki raised her menu to hide the blush she could feel spreading across her cheeks. She was saved from having to reply by the timely reappearance of their waitress.

After placing their orders, the iced coffee for Tatewaki and an American style coffee for Nabiki as well as a chocolate parfait, the two once again lapsed into silence. Tatewaki for his part turned his attention to the café's large windows, ornamented with decorative lace curtains; they revealed the crush of humanity hurrying along outside, a stark contrast to the much more tranquil atmosphere inside.

"Crowded today isn't it?" Nabiki asked after noticing where Tatewaki's attention was directed. "I suppose it's because summer is almost over, everybody is trying to pack in as much fun as possible before school starts again."

Tatewaki only nodded slightly in acknowledgement of Nabiki's statement before letting their conversation lapse back into a comfortable silence. Nabiki studied him as he continued to watch the hurrying masses on the other side of the window. He observed that the large crowd was actually made up not of individuals, but of smaller crowds. People drifted by laughing with friends, glancing longingly at lovers, or being pulled along by family. They went by in clumps of three, clusters of five, couples of two.

Then there were the smallest unit of the crowd, the lonely crowd he dubbed them, the title surfacing from some half remembered memory. These were the ones who seemed to walk along either in a world apart from the rest of the crowd, or while staring at other larger groups with eyes filled with equal parts hatred, envy, despair, and longing.

That was the crowd he belonged to, one made up of only himself, the closest things he had to friends were the people who had to be around him in the kendo club, the closest he had to family was his psychotic sister who seemed to love him one moment and want to kill him the next.

His self indulgent musing were broken when his eye momentarily caught site of something familiar, a recognized profile or a familiar gesture, but before he could focus on it, his attention was broken by the reappearance of the waitress bearing their refreshments.

After being left to their own devises once again, but this time with nourishment, Nabiki broke the silence after briefly sampling her parfait.

"You know, most women would be upset that you've hardly paid them any attention since we've arrived here. But because I've known you for so long, I'm guessing that the fact you haven't been talking nonstop about marrying either me or one of my sisters means you are actually enjoying my company."

Tatewaki met her eyes over the brim of his raised cup, not wanting to admit how close she was to being right, for some reason he felt really comfortable in her presence. He carefully set his coffee down before replying, "I apologize if you feel slighted by my inattention, but I can assure you that it has been sometime since I last broke out in poetry and proposal of the matrimonial variety. Externally at least."

Nabiki cocked an eyebrow while in the midst of retrieving another spoonful of her parfait. "So you're more a fan of the inner monologue these days?"

"Yes, whenever I glimpse your stunning visage, I can do little else but dream up poetic analogies comparing your beauty to that of the rising sun." The cocky smirk that Tatewaki wore while retorting quickly turned into an embarrassed frown as Nabiki broke eye contact and developed a sudden and avid interest in her coffee.

Tatewaki swallowed awkwardly as he decided to quickly move the conversation along. "Well let's talk of more important things."

"Of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings?"

"No something less mundane, the future, our future. Well that is to say my future and your future, since they probably won't…"

Nabiki interrupted him, "Tatewaki, if you want to continue rambling, please remind me that next time we go out to charge you by the hour."

Flustered Tatewaki replied, "But I'm not paying you now am I?"

Nabiki sighed theatrically as she replied, "That's also something that needs to be added to our next contract."

Tatewaki wasn't entirely sure if she was kidding or not, but decided to press on. "Anyway, while I am quite appreciative of your efforts to try and teach me the ways of business, I fear that mathematics and I have no great love for one another. Therefore I think that I should try to pursue a career in law. I know that I'll need to go to university and then to post graduate school, and it won't be easy, but I think that it is the best option I have right now, the most appealing at least."

Nabiki nodded slightly in response and said, "Sounds good."

Tatewaki was momentarily nonplussed; he had expected a more drastic reaction. "Is that all you have to say on the subject? 'Sounds good?'"

Nabiki shrugged slightly, "What do you want me to say? No that's a horrible idea, or it's the best idea in the world? I mean really it is almost immaterial what path you choose, as long as you are the one who chooses it. My opinion is just that, my opinion. When it comes to your future, the only person's opinion which should matter is your own. If you aren't dedicated to the choice you make, then all the positive words in the world will not be enough to make you succeed."

"But your good opinion does matter to me. I mean, I know that I've been a fool in the past, and I can only hope that I am less of a fool now than I was then. But for as long as I've known you, you've always been right, every decision you've made has been good, I trust your judgment. I trust you. More than I trust anyone else, especially myself. If you tell me that my idea is bad, then I know it is bad."

Nabiki smiled sadly and laughed softly before replying, "Tatewaki, we are all human, even me. I've made mistakes, errors in judgment, it's true that I've learned from them, but that doesn't mean that I always make the best decisions. I'm flattered that you think so highly of me, but when it comes to your own future, you are the only one who can make any decision."

Tatewaki slumped back in his seat for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts so that he could articulate an argument capable of convincing Nabiki that he basically just wanted her to tell him what to do. He knew that he was no good judge of either himself or the rest of the world; any decision that he made would almost certainly turn out to be wrong.

But before he had his chance, they were interrupted by an odd high pitched beeping accompanied by the sound of violent vibration. Nabiki leaned over and pulled a small black device from her pocket and peered at the tiny screen on one side.

"It's just a bunch of pound signs; daddy must be trying to page me again. I guess that means I need to head home." Said Nabiki after pressing a combination of buttons to silence the device.

She took one final gulp of her coffee before standing up to leave.

"I'll tell you what Tatewaki, I'll clear my schedule for tomorrow, and we can have all the time in the world to go out and have dinner and a movie, and try to end summer on a high note."

Tatewaki stood up as well while Nabiki was adjusting her purse and replied, "That sounds most enjoyable. Just give me a moment to settle the bill and I will escort you home."

"No, daddy only pages me when it is an emergency, so I'll just go on ahead. I'll see you tomorrow around … 2ish?"

"That sounds agreeable." Tatewaki replied as he indicated to the waitress that he would like his check. However by the time that it arrived and he had paid, Nabiki had left the café and had disappeared into the stream of people passing by.

Tatewaki left the café and for a moment stood still in the moving crowd, creating an island of motionless as he looked around for Nabiki, but he failed to find her. He also failed to spot the reflection in the store window opposite of the dark figure who had been perched upon the roof to the café, and who now began to leap away from rooftop to rooftop in the direction of Nerima.

Sighing to himself Tatewaki allowed himself to be swallowed by the crowd heading in the direction of the train station. Once there he again subjected himself to the rigors of public transportation, then made his way back to the Kuno mansion, his trek uninterrupted by the usual antics of the local martial artist population.

A few hours later found Tatewaki staring at the ceiling of his room while waiting for sleep to claim him. He had skipped dinner, finding his appetite lacking, and had spent the rest of the afternoon practicing kendo, Nabiki's voice constantly running through his head. "The only opinion that matters is yours."

Tatewaki sighed softly in his bed and turned over and forced himself to sleep. A sleep troubled by nebulous nightmares about his uncertain future, laughter and weeping echoing in his ears, an abyss full of monsters he could not vanquish, and other such horrors. All of which were forgotten moments after he awoke to a grey morning, with a sky full of low and dark clouds portending a storm in the not too distant future.

Despite the promise of rain, the air was hot and muggy, quickly forcing Tatewaki from his sweat soaked bed and into a cold shower. He dressed quickly and only nibbled at the large western style breakfast that the cook had prepared.

Tatewaki tried to force the hours to pass by first reading, and then through exercise, but he kept reading the same paragraph over and over, and his heart was just not in the martial arts that morning, his stances were weak and sloppy. At noon he took another brief shower, and then set about the monumental task of choosing which outfit he should wear to meet with Nabiki.

Choosing an outfit with subtle and dark colors Tatewaki made his way through the silent house and out into the almost equally silent street. Unlike the previous day there were only a few people about, the majority deciding that there would be little joy found in a day with such ominous weather.

He made good time to the Tendo Dojo and arrived almost a quarter of an hour early, but he had scarcely pressed the bell before Nabiki opened the door and rushed out to meet him, grabbing his arm again and pulling them away before anyone had the chance to stop them.

"Sorry about that Tatewaki, but it's a bit hectic in there right now. Yesterday Ranma lost a fight in some sort of baseball based martial arts, so he's training to challenge the guy again, and Ryoga just showed up again and is trying to goad him into a fight. If they knew that you were around, that would probably only make the situation more explosive." Nabiki explained as they rushed away.

Tatewaki couldn't really fault her logic, but he silently questioned why exactly they were hurrying away so fast, only slowing down to a casual pace once they reached a nearby park which also served as a shortcut to the nearest movie theater.

The grey and heavy clouds were reflected in the perfectly still lake which lay at the center of the park with a sinuous path winding around it. The view offered no relief from the oppressive mugginess of the day however.

But Tatewaki no longer noticed the bleakness of the day, or the bead of sweat trailing down his neck, as he looked down and realized that even though they had returned to walking at a normal pace, his hand was still entwined with Nabiki's.

"So what movie do you want to go see?" Nabiki asked as they turned onto the path circling the lake.

Tatewaki turned away from their hands, hoping that she didn't notice and replied, "Actually I'm not too interested in the cinema, and it seems as if every year the quality of films decreases."

"Well then what do you want to do?"

"Actually it is seldom that a park such as this is as vacant as it currently is. Perhaps we should take advantage of it and continue our stroll. I believe that there is a pretty sort of wilderness just on the other side of this copse of trees." He replied while pulling them onto another path which led through a stand of trees.

Nabiki offered no resistance other than saying, "Well just as long as we make it indoors somewhere by the time it starts to rain, I really don't want to get soaked."

Unfortunately they had only made it about halfway through the woods when tiny drops of rain began to sprinkle down. Tatewaki paused, debating whether they should try to make it back to the Tendo Dojo or press on to a restaurant or even the theater to stay mostly dry, when the choice was taken from him.

The day was interrupted by a familiar laughter as a dark figure leapt into the clearing that Tatewaki and Nabiki were standing in. "Ohhohohohoho!" Kodachi laughed, "So it would seem that you failed to take my hint Miss Tendo. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to punish you for that." She said with a sneer marring her face.

Tatewaki quickly stepped in front of Nabiki, placing himself between her and his deranged sister. "Kodachi, what do you want?"

Kodachi moved a little closer as she replied, "Why dear brother I just want what is best for you, what is best for us, to make sure that this harlot does not ensnare you and bring you to ruin."

"Stay back! If you return to the mansion now I might consider forgetting the insults you just said, but I'm afraid that if you persist in this madness then I will have no choice but to discipline you." Tatewaki declared, throwing his arm out in a gesture meant to further block Nabiki from Kodachi.

Kodachi's sneer transformed into a small frown, but she did stop advancing. "I see. Apparently I am too late to easily separate the whore from you. But never fear dear brother I will save you. I'm sure that in the future you will look back on this and thank me, even if right now you are too blind to do anything but protest. Luckily for you while you've been wiling away your hours locked in that dusty study, I have been practicing and training."

With that she conjured up her ribbons from who knows where and began to spin them in a rather pretty pattern. Without breaking eye contact with his sister, Tatewaki turned his head slightly and quietly said, "Run Nabiki. Run home, get to safety."

But whether due to fear or confidence in his fighting ability, Nabiki stayed still. Tatewaki was about to repeat his entreat for her to retreat but was denied the opportunity when suddenly one of Kodachi's ribbons lashed out and tried to go past Tatewaki to hit Nabiki in the face. Tatewaki reached up and it wrapped around his arm instead.

Kodachi pulled sharply on the ribbon and it cut through the cloth of Tatewaki's shirt and pulled him off balance. But he was larger and stronger than his sister, so he pulled back. Instead of fighting the pull, Kodachi used it and launched herself at Tatewaki, landing with both feet in his stomach. The air swiftly left Tatewaki and he doubled over as his sister performed a rather graceful back flip. In the midst of which she pulled out a club which she quickly introduced to her brother's chin after recovering from the back flip.

Tatewaki flew back as Kodachi's club connected with his jaw. He bit his tongue and could taste blood, he was gasping for breath, trying to get his wind back, and he was seeing stars as the back of his head hit the ground.

Nonetheless he quickly tried to get back on his feet, managing to make it up on one knee. He looked up to find that Nabiki had finally decided to run away, but she was no match for the speed of Kodachi. As if in slow motion, Tatewaki watched as Kodachi grabbed Nabiki by the shoulder spinning her around, then from somewhere there was a knife in her hand. Not a club, not a ball, not a ribbon or some other piece of gymnast equipment, an actual knife. Tatewaki finally realized that Kodachi meant to kill Nabiki, not hurt, kill.

Tatewaki was suddenly on his feet and moving faster than he had ever moved in his life. All his hurts forgotten, his entire focus was on the knife in Kodachi's hand, and the thought "Please let me get there in time. Please. Please." But even as he sprinted he watched as the world seemed to come to a standstill but Kodachi's hand continued to move. It buried the knife to the hilt in Nabiki's stomach.

Kodachi's face filled his vision momentarily, but it was swiftly dispatched with as much power as Tatewaki could put behind his fist. Then all his attention was turned to Nabiki who he caught in his arms before she could collapse to the ground. The clouds decided to unleash their torrents at that moment.

There was blood, so much blood. It was pouring out of the wound, but Tatewaki knew that if he removed the knife it would only pour faster. He felt so useless as he cradled Nabiki in his arms. He lifted his head and shouted "Help! Sasuke, anyone, help! Please someone call an ambulance!"

He broke off as he felt a hand on his cheek. He looked down at Nabiki who was cradling his cheek with her hand, the heavy rain had swept the hair back from her face, and she looked so pale and cold, so fragile. But her eyes where more beautiful than Tatewaki had ever imagined, they were pools of emotion, hurt, love, regret, all seemed to be reflected in her eyes.

"Tate … wak … hurts…" She sputtered out.

Tatewaki hugged her closer, "I know, but hang on Nabiki, help is coming, you'll see, you'll get better then we can go out and go on dates and stuff."

Nabiki managed a weak smile as she softly said, "Idiot." Then closed her eyes.

Tatewaki shouted, "No! No Nabiki, you can't die, not now. I need you! I love you! Please … please … don't give up. You can't die yet."

Nabiki opened her eyes again and whispered, "… love you… too." She then sighed a long drawn out sigh and closed her eyes for one final time.

He watched her in horror, only able to say, "No, please. Please. Please. Please." What or who he was asking was not clear, but he kept repeating it.

Tatewaki hugged her fiercely as the rain continued to pound down, mixing with the ever spreading pool of her blood, and his tears which bathed them both. Tatewaki was never sure just how long they stayed like that before help arrived, it might have been minutes, hours, days. To him it felt as if it was the rest of his life.

* * *

The day of the funeral was as rainy and grey as the day of her death. Perhaps it was still the same day, Tatewaki didn't know. After the police had let him go from questioning, and they had arrested his sister, Tatewaki had stayed in his room alone in the dark, finding no solace either in sleep or awake. He began to forget how to distinguish dreams from reality, and sometimes would still believe Nabiki to be alive, only to realize that she was forever beyond the reach of his love. He went insane from grief countless times, and spent countless years trapped in never-ending heart break.

He had taken the time to leave orders to be notified when the funeral was, so the servants had braved his wrath to knock on his door and inform him. He dressed himself in the same suit he had worn to his father's funeral, and then somehow made his way to the cemetery.

He paused at the foot of the hill that the cemetery occupied, at the top he could see dozens of mourners all dressed in black, several taking shelter under black umbrellas. He knew that he would be unwelcome in their company, most of them blamed him, and in truth he blamed himself as well. No matter what his reception was, he owed it to Nabiki to pay his final respects.

So he started on his way up the hill, but halfway there he was spotted and he could see the ripple of people muttering to one another and turning to look at him spread across the crowd of people. Shortly a few individuals detached themselves from the rest of the crowd and intercepted him before he could reach the grave.

Soun, Ranma, and Akane all looked at him with open hostility mixed with deep grief. Kasumi could not raise her eyes to meet his, so he couldn't be sure if even she hated him, but he suspected that she did.

All the strength left Tatewaki, and he fell to his knees on the cold and wet path, already soaked to the bone by the cold rain. He bowed in supplication at Soun's feet.

"I know that nothing will ever replace your daughter, but please know that I loved her too. My sister will pay for her crimes, but so will I, every moment of my life will be excruciatingly painful, because I know she will not be there. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I don't ask your forgiveness because I know it can never be given. Please do with me what you will, I deserve it. I'm so sorry."

With his head bowed, Tatewaki was unable to see as Soun made a fist with so much anger that his hand shook. But slowly he uncurled it and placed the flat of his hand gently on the back of Tatewaki's head.

"I too know what it is like to lose someone who you've loved as no one else. If you did truly love my daughter, then I know that whatever punishment I give to you pales in comparison to the pain that you feel now. Your family is made up of honor less pieces of filth; you at least have the decency to acknowledge that fact. I cannot forgive you or your family. But I have no right to stop you from paying your respects either. I take my leave of you and hope that I never see you again."

So saying Soun walked past Tatewaki, followed by the rest of his family, Akane and Ranma taking a few extra seconds to stare angrily at Tatewaki, even if Soun had forgiven the boy, they had not. It was only out of respect for the recently departed that they did not beat him right then and there. But they promised themselves that soon they would take out their anger and sorrow on his body.

Tatewaki lowered his head further until his forehead was resting against the cold and wet ground, the rain began to fall heavier, as he began to cry and sob. The pain in his chest was so bad that he felt as if he were dying as well as his love. The world narrowed as the hot tears mixed with the cold rain, and then he fell into darkness, deep darkness …

* * *

And then he woke up to a familiar site, the ceiling of the nurse's office in Furinkan High School. He looked around confused for a few moments before a familiar voice said, "So you're finally awake huh, guess I don't get to skip history after all."

Tatewaki sat up quickly and found Nabiki dressed in her school uniform sitting at the end of the nurse's bed with a manga dangling from her fingers.

Her eyes became almost as big as his were when he lunged toward her, but instead of colliding with her, he wrapped her in a fierce hug, and it seemed almost as if he was crying while saying something like, "Not dead, not dead."

Nabiki shook her head as she pried him off of her while saying, "Of course you aren't dead, even though Ranma kicked you through about five walls and a tree. That head of yours is too hard to ever break."

Tatewaki looked at her with a confused expression. "Then my father is still alive as well?"

It was Nabiki's turn to be confused, "He was last time I checked, although someone might have killed him in the past ten minutes since he made the announcement that the basketball team had to move because the gym is now a tropical jungle."

Tatewaki bounced out of bed, the bandages wrapped around his head, chest, and various other parts of his body unnoticed.

"Then I must go speak with him." So saying he dashed out of the room, but was stopped when Nabiki spoke.

"By the way Kuno, that'll be 50,000 for the hug."

Tatewaki just looked back at Nabiki and smiled as he said, "Nabiki, I love you." He then ran off, leaving a very confused Nabiki, and a forgotten bokken leaning against the corner of the room. He wasn't sure how, but now he had a second chance at making things right, and he was determined to do so. So with a burst of confidence he made his way out into his brave new world.

END;

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Author's Note:

See I didn't just butcher a great poem because I felt like it; it serves both metaphorically and literally. I'm sure that some of you feel like the ending was a letdown. Sorry. While I do like my angst, I love my happy endings; anyway this was supposed to be a short prequel to another Kuno/Nabiki story in which I could have Tatewaki acting out of character due to the events in this story.

Anyways, thanks for all the positive reviews, sorry for the long delay but I've been occupied in trying to get my degree before summer of '09, and am taking a full load of classes as well as being a research assistant, so there are too few hours in the day. I wish I could go ahead and get a doctorate instead of entering the harsh real world, but sadly I don't think my loans will wait that long. (Besides I wouldn't be able to get a cool doctorate like physics or biology. Damn you my business and technology background.)

Well be on the lookout for the probably less than anticipated sequel to this story, hopefully with a more in character Nabiki, and a slightly out of character Tatewaki, as well as more appearances by people who were actually main characters in the real manga/anime. Also be on the lookout for another story that I will hopefully be posting soon which will be a Soun/Hinako pairing.


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